Due to this Autonomy
by TheHarlequinRevolver
Summary: Murdoc was running low on rum; 2D was running low on zombie movies. But they were both running low on patience. Both of them are desperate for Noodle. Will she come back? Rated T to be safe. Possible pairings later.
1. Low

**Guess who's got a new Gorillaz fanfic?**

**I'm going to stick to this one and not write I Love Yoko for a while. **

**It was just getting boring for me, and I was feeling uninspired. I'm really sorry for the I Love Yoko fans, but I needed to take a massive break from that story. I'm sorry. **

**Regardless of that, please enjoy this new story. I'm trying to write more emotionally.**  


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More...

He wasn't happy.

That's all he could determine.

The rum was getting old, and there was no more good food. Over a year on Plastic Beach seemed like an eternity.

And Murdoc Niccals was finished with it.

As the feisty bass player sauntered onto the sundeck, he could only dream of the things he could be doing right now.

He could make another album. He could get more women. He could make more money.

That was it. There weren't many good reasons for him to leave Plastic Beach. Two wasn't enough. He could stay away from the pirates and even worse…Noodle.

He took out a fag and lit it while thinking of his former guitarist.

"Noodle…" he purred. He was like an uncle to her. Of course he missed her, but he was also avoiding her.

Only Satan knew what she would do to him once she saw Cyborg and 2D. 2D was starving, and Cyborg was just…Cyborg.

Murdoc despised the horrible android he had made a year prior. She wasn't Noodle. She never would be.

It got the job done, and it was the only thing good about her. She was easy to manipulate, he thought, unlike the Faceache, who he had conveniently locked in the underwater basement.

The slimy green man laughed and took a long drag. Faceache.

He hated him, too.

The hatred was mutual.

Murdoc and 2D had their moments of humor and laughter; however they were becoming more infrequent.

It wasn't like Kong at all.

Kong was happy, and Noodle was always bouncing around making everyone happy.

The bassist thought of Noodle again. She was never completely off of his mind.

Had she died?

He quickly pushed the thought out of his head, but it wasn't working. The thought of her falling out of the glorious, blissful windmill island almost made him sob.

He was Murdoc Niccals.

He didn't cry.

He used anger.

"F*ck!" he screeched. His mismatched eyes flared with anger and he stomped out his cigarette on the floor of the sundeck.

It wasn't fair.

2D sat down in his underwater prison. He hadn't gotten any new films from Murdoc's Netflix account lately.

Murdoc had his rum, and 2D had his zombie films.

Even the thick singer knew that they were running out of both things.

They were also running out of patience.

His nerves still flickered, even though the whale was gone.

Murdoc had gotten tired of his constant screaming and let the whale go. 2D had a small party with his life-sized Spider Man figurine.

It wasn't much, but it was the most fun he had had in a long time.

2D never expected Noodle to come back.

He told himself this every single day. He was on a schedule.

And it was quite a sick, dark one.

First he would wake up at sunrise. The little bit of the sun he could see reminded him of Noodle.

Her emerald eyes would always sparkle like the sun.

The Cyborg brought down breakfast every other day. Those days were always memorable. Sometimes the singer would almost get shot for even moving an inch.

Other times the Cyborg would offer more than a piece of toast. If it was an especially good day, she brought down some expired orange juice and the toast would be buttered.

Once, she brought down a single moldy strawberry along with the toast.

2D appreciated the gesture, but promptly threw it across the room.

After breakfast, the lanky bluenette either hid from the whale or paced across the room.

Lately, since the whale was gone, he would just pace.

He would be at it for hours, sometimes only thinking about the Japanese guitarist the whole time.

He almost never got any other meals during the day. If Murdoc decided to pig out that day, 2D would get the leftover table scraps, even if they were inedible.

After his meal, if he had one, he would sneak up to the roof and bring one of the acoustic guitars from the studio with him. Murdoc had finally learned that letting the singer out for short periods of time kept him temporarily sane.

He informed the Cyborg of this, and she was ordered not to attack 2D if he came out between the hours of seven and nine.

It was seven now. Time for his walk.

His routine sickened him every time he went through it. He felt horrible about everything.

Nothing ever changed.

Despite not eating for two days, he sprinted into the lift the moment he saw the automatic timed lock light turn off. He jammed the "roof" button a little too hard.

The lift chuggled up to the roof, almost collapsing during the process.

The cold metal doors opened and 2D was exposed to the beautiful sunset. It was a stunning concoction of purple and red.

He saw the purple and thought of Noodle.

2D closed his dark orbs and saw Noodle's dark violet hair swishing in front of him. He rapidly shook his head and walked over to the spot where he kept his guitar. He didn't bother taking it back to the Studio every single day.

The man wasn't lazy.

He physically didn't have the energy to walk only a few more feet than he had to.

Murdoc marched back inside and tapped his Cuban heels ridiculously hard on the floor. He was still almost boiled over with rage.

He didn't care anymore. He didn't care about Noodle, Faceache, or even Russel.

He needed to get out.

And he needed to do it now.

He quickened his pace and entered his room. The door was one that you would find in a submarine. Someone had spraypainted "Mudz" on it in red.

He needed to find the wanker that did that. But that was the last thing on his to do list.

The bass slayer knocked all of the hats off his bed with a single swish of his arm. He didn't exactly have any clothes to pack. He hastily grabbed an extra pack of cigarettes and his old, foreign rum and stormed towards the door once again.

He turned the large, nautical handle a few revolutions and became face to face with his digital creation.

She looked worse than usual. Her electromagnetic veins pulsed across her face, making her skin look more synthetic than it really was.

Murdoc frowned. Her totalitarian attitude would just make him more furious. Her monotone voice would set him off even more, only because it wasn't…

It wasn't…

He couldn't put a finger on it. What wasn't it?

After a few seconds of dazed thought, he knew it.

It wasn't Noodle.

It was too un-Noodle.

He held up his hand to slap her out of the way. She didn't move and took the slap.

"Sir…" she said weakly. Her internal system was briefly harmed.

Murdoc didn't respond, causing immediate concern to the young robot.

"Sir, is something wrong? Your behavior is not regular. Do you have a fever?" she held her hand to his forehead only to be slapped again.

"Nothin's wrong, ya bloody git! 'M leavin'!"

The Cyborg stepped back awkwardly. She wasn't programmed to understand what to do in this situation.

She rapidly searched her database for possible answers; nothing.

"S-Sir…malfunction. P-Please update database." She asked weakly.

Murdoc had no plan to update her. He stomped past her, leaving her in a state of utter robotic confusion.

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**Was that ok? Please, please review!**


	2. Back

_**I'm really going to try and be consistent and write a new chapter every day/every other day. Enjoy chapter two of Due to this Autonomy! AND PLEASE REVIEW! IT'S WHAT KEEPS ME GOING! **_

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The relaxation that the sunset of Plastic Beach brought 2D was overwhelming.

He'd sometimes pass out from the quiet, peaceful lapping of the waves and the short, useless strums of his acoustic guitar.

The notes and chords he played were inaccurate most of the time. He couldn't remember any of the notes from his band's third album.

He only remembered the notes to El Manana.

He sniffed and played what he knew. The sun seemed to hesitantly go down as he continued playing.

"Maybe in time…" he whispered.

"You'll want to be mine…"

Noodle was anything but dead.

She had been out of Hell for two years.

A scar adorned the young Japanese woman's face as she walked back up to Kong. She hadn't been rotting away like her bandmates thought she had been. She had been traveling the world; "finding herself" as one may call it.

Surprisingly, she hadn't learned much. She left Hell with an open mind.

She had come back to Kong with an even more open one.

Noodle had been to every corner of the globe; every continent. She didn't learn anything about herself.

She learned more about others.

The guitarist had thought mostly of her bandmates the whole time. She always checked the British newspapers for info on them. She frowned heavily upon them when she heard about Plastic Beach.

She knew about Cyborg Noodle and she knew about the torture 2D went through.

She knew everything.

Noodle sped up the long driveway that led to the main entrance to her former studio. As she approached it with caution, she noticed the state of disrepair it was in.

The zombies weren't crawling everywhere, like she had expected. The front door was also unlocked.

She pushed it open to reveal Kong Studios. It wasn't different at all.

The petite Asian woman avoided the lift and took the stairs to her room. Each step was slow and painful. A memory of some sort somehow seemed to lurk on every step.

She remembered Russel, 2D, and even Murdoc giving her piggy back rides up these stairs.

She remembered hauling 2D all the way upstairs to her room because she was too eager to wait for the lift. She wanted to play video games instead.

Noodle smiled slightly as she looked around the tainted stairwell. The memories were bittersweet now. She knew that times like that could never happen again.

Or maybe they could.

Before she could think about it anymore, she had reached the hallways of her former room. Noodle was eager to check on Shaun, her robotic head that resided in her closet.

The guitarist shuffled quickly to her room and stared at the sign that hung on her door. It hadn't changed since Russel put it up for her ten years ago.

"Has it really been ten years?" she asked out loud.

It had been. Noodle opened the door, but to her surprise, it fell down to the wooden floor.

She stepped back in fear, and then continued into her room. She was met with a bitter breeze, the kind you could only get during the late night. It lashed into her face, causing her to step back again.

At least half of the roof had been torn off. The floorboards were shaky, and Shaun was far from well.

He sat in his closet, completely dehydrated.

Noodle looked at the sight and frowned. Tears welled up in her eyes as she explored further. Her hands waved over everything in her room; from old acoustic guitars to lanterns and posters that had been catapulted onto the floor, presumably from storms.

Each item had an individual memory for her. She thought she was finished exploring until she found a broken object by her destroyed dresser.

It looked as though it had been knocked onto the floor.

It was a picture frame.

Noodle only noticed it because of the small shard of glass that had found its way into her foot. She yelped in pain and picked it out.

The clear solid had smeared with dark crimson. The girl sighed and went down on her hands and knees to pick up the pieces. Doing this was a rather dumb idea. She only got stabbed a few more times in the legs and arms.

She cursed loudly, an unusual thing for her. Noodle looked down to see that it was indeed a picture frame, and in it was a picture of her and all of Gorillaz.

Her pain was slightly subsided by happiness as she looked deep into the eyes of each band member, including herself.

It reminded her of how much she had changed over ten years.

She desired to go back to those times. Her teen years were taken away by Satan himself.

Noodle feared what her family would think of her now. Older, scarred and mature, she was very far from the little girl who had jumped out of the FedEx crate ten years ago.

The Asian woman looked into the shiny reflection of the glass to look at herself. She brushed her hand over her scarred eye and let her cat mask drop to the floor.

"Ten years…ten years…"

The android reincarnation of Noodle was still following Murdoc as he set his things into the submarine.

He shooed her away constantly, only to be responded to with a single beep.

"Damn it, Cyborg! I told ya to leave!" he screeched.

The Cyborg stopped beeping and saluted her master.

"I cannot do that, sir."

Murdoc looked at her in anger. "Wot do ya mean, ya can't?" he asked. The Cyborg stepped away timidly.

"You have told me to stop you anytime you or anyone else attempt to leave the island. I cannot go against these internal server commands. They of high priority, and I must keep you sane, sir."

Murdoc mentally cursed himself. He tried to think of a way to get the thing to go away.

"Go power down." He muttered.

The robot didn't listen.

"I am fully charged, sir." She said triumphantly. She was always so proud of herself when she was able to sustain her battery. These pleasures made Murdoc sick to his stomach.

The bassist realized that he had no way out of this. He was being controlled by his own creation.

Her circuit board-green eyes flashed and whirred uncontrollably, almost like she was trying to analyze the Satanist.

Murdoc sighed and went inside his plastic sanctuary while Cyborg Noodle picked his bags up from inside the sub.

He couldn't leave.

It was close to ten, which meant 2D needed to start making his way back to his room. The only thing he had to look forward to was that tomorrow was his feeding day.

He entered the Study to find Murdoc sleeping on the couch with a bottle of rum in his hands.

He hadn't actually talked to Murdoc in over two weeks. Sometimes the green man would come down to his room to mutter a few drunken insults, but that was the only kind of contact the two really had.

The singer thought they needed to talk things out.

They needed to talk about Noodle, about Gorillaz, about Kong…about everything.

2D slumped down next to Murdoc and poked him lightly.

"Muds?" he asked hesitantly. Murdoc's odd nose shifted and wrinkled for a moment before going back to its normal position. 2D stifled laughter. It was the first time he had come close to laughing in months.

The blunette poked Murdoc again to entertain himself. Sure enough, Murdoc's nose shifted like a pig's again.

2D busted out in a cheerful laugh.

He grasped his sides. It seemed like such a small thing to be laughing about, but 2D took in all the humor he could get.

He lived in a world of seemingly endless depression. I'm sure you would have laughed, too.

Murdoc instantly jolted up and smacked 2D. His laughter subsided.

"Wot the f*ck are ya doin'?" Murdoc asked calmly. The singer had been expecting the older man to scream at him, or even worse, beat him harder than usual.

2D, confused, answered. "I-I wanted to talk to ya, Muds. Tha's all…" he whispered.

Murdoc's expression softened. "Wot is it? Spit it out."

"Do ya miss Noodle?"

Murdoc grunted. He wasn't expecting that to pop out of his singer's mouth.

Without thinking, he responded.

"Yes. Absolutely."

2D shifted in his seat. He wanted to ask Murdoc so many more questions. So much had been left unanswered since their first Gorillaz album. 2D asked a new question.

"Do ya really 'ate me?"

This made Murdoc shiver.

"No. I don't." he replied. He rubbed his temples lightly.

2D curled up in a ball.

"Fanks…" he said. "Fank you…"

Murdoc grunted again and looked 2D over. He was thinner then he had imagined him to be.

"Cyborg!" the bassist called out. The digital creature stepped lifelessly into the Study from the Kitchen.

"Yes, sir?" she asked. She looked as if she was begging to be commanded.

"Get Faceache some soup… or a sandwich or somethin'. And when ya get 'im breakfast tomorrow, get 'im some real food."

2D was astonished at the words that were coming out of Murdoc's mouth. Was he really being nice?

The Cyborg reluctantly obliged. She had been programmed to dislike 2D. Her internal servers started to malfunction as she seemingly argued with herself over this conflict.

He was 2D.

Master despised him.

Or so she thought.

The only choice she had was to bring the soup and sandwich to her band's singer, no matter how much it conflicted her.

After rehydrating Shaun and taking all of her intact items, Noodle marched out of Kong for the second time that night. She seriously considered staying the night until she ruled it to be too depressing.

She had already tried to take a rest on her old, in-ground Japanese bed, which resulted in massive amounts of tears.

Leaving Kong was the easiest decision she could make. There were still so many questions left behind her in the old studio.

Questions that she was too scared to answer herself.

She made her way down the driveway and pulled her cat mask tighter to her head. Her suitcase dragged on the cracked pavement.

The pressure on it became too immense, and the contents were soon clattered onto the driveway.

Noodle frowned and leaned down to pick everything up. She couldn't put her knees on the pavement; she didn't want her uncovered cuts to become infected.

She though she picked everything up, so she continued down the driveway. She walked ten more feet and stopped when she reached the street.

An acute sound was apparent behind her. She perked her head up and whooshed around to see the picture of her and her bandmates tumbling towards her. It took a hard toll from the cracked blacktop. The guitarist sniffled and picked it up.

A tear fell on the dated photo, and she made up her mind.

She needed to return to Plastic Beach.


	3. Un terrain d'entente

**I read over the last chapters and I realized that I forgot to break up the POVs! I broke them up with asterisks in MS Word, but those obviously disappeared. :|**

**Please enjoy the chapter and SUBMIT REVIEWS!**

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Chapter 3-Un terrain d'entente

At this point, Noodle was an expert in booking any kind of travel. She had booked countless amounts of cruises, cars, buses, and planes for herself in the past four years.

She hoped that this would be the last time she would need to ride a boat for a long time.

The guitarist had already flown from Kong Studios in Britain to San Francisco, California. She planned to sail to Hawaii on a ship dubbed the "M. Harriet", and then hijack it to sail to Plastic Beach.

To askew any kind of rumors about her causing such a crime, she arranged for pirates to hijack the ship for her. She would then engage in false combat with them to finally erase any possibility of her ever becoming arrested in any country.

Noodle thought this was a brilliant, foolproof plan. For the most part, she was right.

As the short girl waited anxiously for her boat to arrive, she pulled her cat mask off her face. She rubbed at her scar. It hurt enough to make her cry.

But there was nothing else to do.

Noodle could only wait.

* * *

The Cyborg hadn't turned off for days. Murdoc was highly convinced that something was wrong with her. If it were a normal day, she would have broken down halfway down the hall and the bassist's rum would end up all over the floor.

However, it hadn't been a normal couple of days.

2D hadn't gone back down in his room other than to sleep. Murdoc also hadn't beaten him.

The bluenette was convinced that things were just going to get better. He was getting normal meals and he could even go outside to put his feet in the water, which he enjoyed much more than just looking at it.

Murdoc, on the other hand, was on the brink of insanity. With the Cyborg following him around constantly and his lack of good liquor, he was a ticking time bomb.

At the moment, the two men were sitting on the couch in the mechanical gaze of the Cyborg. They couldn't do or say much. The fake Noodle had announced yesterday that she taped all conversation.

Murdoc tried to make small talk, mostly about the new rums he was trying to get imported in from Spain and Germany. 2D took no interest and lit up a fag.

"When can we ge' outta here?" the singer asked casually. The Cyborg perked up, eager to listen in more intently on the conversation.

Murdoc growled when he saw his foul creation trying to listen in as usual.

"At this rate…" Murdoc started. 2D leaned forward in his seat. He desired the opportunity to leave Plastic Beach behind. He couldn't stand to be trapped in Murdoc's dream. Little did he know it was turning into Murdoc's nightmare.

"We're not goin' anywhere." He finished. 2D's heart sank.

2D wanted more. "Why?" he asked. Murdoc shot a nasty glare at him and then shifted his eyes to the Cyborg.

"Is it because of the Cyborg?" 2D asked dumbly. The bassist's toes curled when he felt Cyborg Noodle step directly in front of him.

"Is there a problem?" she asked monotonously. Neither of the men answered. 2D shivered at the realization: Cyborg Noodle was starting to keep them hostage.

They couldn't leave because of her.

"N-No…there's no problem." Murdoc whispered. His fists were clenched hard. He had to resist the urge to punch the mutant thing that stood in front of him.

He ground his teeth as the Cyborg suggested possible reasons for his anger.

"Perhaps you are hung over. Do you need more alcohol? Maybe a snack?" she questioned him.

Murdoc gave no answer.

"Muds…she's talkin' to ya." 2D interjected. The Satanist didn't notice.

"M-Muds?" he chirped a little louder.

Murdoc gritted his teeth.

"Cyborg…I'll tell ya wot I want…" he began. The Cyborg gave him a fake smile, encouraging him to continue.

The man's breathing increased rapidly. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, making him looked more devilish than usual.

You could cut the tension with a knife. Murdoc and Cyborg Noodle fixated their chilling stares on each other. They were waiting for the other person to say something.

"I want you to f*ck off!" he screamed. Murdoc immediately punched the Cyborg square in the face. She fell backwards and stayed down for a few moments.

Silence.

Murdoc looked down confidently and in shame. He was embarrassed that his own body guard could be knocked down by just a punch. His breathing slowed to a normal pace as he realized that the Cyborg had gone down. He was shocked.

2D rushed to the other side of the room in fear. He passed the Cyborg as she fell. Oil shot from her nose like blood. As the singer plunged into the corner, he wiped off the sticky black fluid from his shirt and trousers. The man gagged and scooted more into the corner by the fish tank. He picked up his cigarette from the ground and rekindled its flame. He breathed in the smoke and attempted to calm himself from the utter terror that was settling around him.

After about a minute, it was clear that the Cyborg wasn't getting up. Murdoc smiled in accomplishment and stood up. He looked down at his creation one more time before picking up her limp body.

But when he picked her up, she wasn't as limp as he expected.

Murdoc looked into the robot's eyes. Oil leaked from the corners of her eyes like tears. Horrified, the green skinned man dropped her onto the floor. She twitched at the contact and sat up instantly. She gazed at her master and a blood curdling smile appeared onto her face.

She stood up, seemingly oblivious to what had just happened.

"I will go and charge now." She stated. "If shall have any need for me, please signal me at once."

And with that, the Cyborg saluted Murdoc, nodded to 2D and marched to her broom closet without question.

Murdoc and 2D were baffled.

* * *

Noodle nervously looked down to the ground as she boarded the M. Harriett. People looked almost like the size of ants when she looked at them.

She knew, deep inside of her what she was doing was totally right.

She also knew that she would need to confront Murdoc and the Cyborg version of herself. She didn't want to damage what didn't need to be damaged.

But annihilating the Cyborg was the only thing she could think to do. It seemed like the right thing.

Noodle thought long and hard as the massive ship began to leave the port. As the wind whipped in her hair, she realized she forgave Murdoc.

It was ok.

She understood his position. She even dared to think that she would have done the same thing if she were him.

But this…thing that he created was simply a monster. She couldn't forgive him for that part. Feelings of confusion surged through her as the port became smaller and smaller.

Within hours, they were completely surrounded by water, and the port couldn't be seen for miles. Noodle had been escorted to her room. It wasn't very large. It was decorated quite nicely, though. Noodle rested her two full suitcases on the dark cherry wood desk. One case contained her belongings. The other contained a Tommy gun and an emergency phone.

She quickly tore the gun case open and grabbed the phone. It was the old one she had as a young teen. She could never do much with it other than call 911 or Russel.

She went through the small contact list to the second one there.

It was Russel.

The guitarist pressed the large green button and listened to the dial tone. She prayed that Russel had still kept the same phone number and that she would have phone reception in the middle of the ocean.

The tone rang four times until a distinct Brooklyn accent answered. It sounded a bit dazed.

"Who's this?" a deep voice asked. He didn't sound very friendly, whoever he was.

"R-Russel-sama?" Noodle asked timidly. There was a bump on the other end of the line. Russel had dropped the phone.

"B-Baby-girl? Is that you?" the drummer asked. Noodle's lips curled into a small smile.

"Hai… a-are you at Plastic Beach?"

Russel didn't answer for a moment.

"No, Noods…I'm not. Are you?" he asked, completely dumbfounded. Noodle was surprised at the confusion in his voice. He wasn't as sure as he usually was.

"I am heading there…right now. Is it possible that we could arrange… a meeting?"

Russel rubbed the side of his head.

"Of course…when and where?" he asked.

Noodle told Russel everything; the hijacking, the world travels and her visit to Kong. They had to have been talking for two hours. Russel sat and listened obediently the whole time.

Noodle's plan wasn't exactly as foolproof as expected. She had to meet Russel somewhere in the middle of the ocean. She didn't know how she was going to pull it off. Russel's instructions rolled in and out of her brain. He gave exact coordinates of his future location in the ocean. She was supposed to find him while captaining the M. Harriet all by herself.

How was she supposed to do this?

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**Hooray for me finally putting in page divider things!**


	4. Je me Soucie de Vous

**I really had no idea I was actually capable of updating every single day...but I can! I'm surprised! Thank you so much for the support on this story. I'm also getting a lot of support on dA. _PLEASE REVIEW! IT'S GREATLY APPRECIATED! AND BE WARNED, THIS IS A LONG CHAPTER!_**

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Chapter 4-Je me Soucie de Vous

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The shock was still hovering over Murdoc and 2D a few minutes after the Cyborg's epic exit.

The bassist strode over to 2D.

"Are ya ok?" he asked.

2D, from the looks of it, seemed anything but ok. He was shivering. The man was almost clutching his cigarette between his two fingers.

"H-Her eyes…" he whispered. "T-They're scary…"

Murdoc looked down at the singer with slight pity. He felt only a small twinge of guilt for what he had done to him.

But it wasn't enough to emotionally impact him.

"Faceache…go back to yer room." He commanded. 2D frowned.

"W-Wot? Muds I do-"

Murdoc interrupted him.

"Get down to yer damn room before I punch yer face in!"

2D quickly scrambled to the lift, unable to withstand Murdoc's threat. He smashed the button as hard as he could. It took awhile for the lift to come up to the Study.

It was quite odd.

Nobody else was supposed to be in the lift.

2D cautiously entered and pressed the button that lead to his room. He had a feeling of uneasiness.

It felt like someone was watching him.

"Hello, Stuart." A mechanical voice said. 2D whirled around.

The Cyborg was right in front of him. Her gun was in her arms, loaded and ready to fire. 2D took a step back. He ran right into the metal wall of the lift.

He could swear that he didn't see the Cyborg when he stepped in.

"There is no need to be afraid. I do not think I will have to hurt you." She stated. The confidence in her voice frightened the tall man more than it should have.

"I-I fink I just wanna get to my room…" he squeaked. The Cyborg offered no sympathy.

"I believe I need to stay in there with you. You may try to escape. Are you planning on escaping?" she asked. She tried to cock her head to the side, just like how the real Noodle used to.

It wasn't working.

"Go away!" 2D pushed himself into the corner of the lift and cowered in fear.

The Cyborg attempted to bite her lip. A slight leak of oil came out. Her eye still had oil running down it like dripping mascara.

"I am afraid I cannot do that, Stuart." She picked up her gun and aimed it to 2D's head.

"No…. no no no no no no!" 2D shouted in fear.

It was that moment when he realized that he was going to die that day. The lift dinged and opened to 2D's room. Nobody moved.

A single shot was fired.

* * *

They were about one hundred miles away from Plastic Beach. If Noodle's calculations were correct, the pirates would come at any moment.

She had spent two days on the M. Harriet, and it wasn't as bad as she expected. The food was delicious, and there was a small pool on the bow of the boat.

She only went swimming once. She hadn't put her feet in water since she went on her trip to Iceland, where she went into the hot springs.

The pool wasn't as nice as the hot springs, but it was better than nothing. It temporarily eased her tension about Russel.

How was he going to get near Plastic Beach by swimming in just two days? The thoughts clouded Noodle's head.

She flopped onto her floral patterned couch. She couldn't wait to get back home, although she wasn't quite sure if Plastic Beach was going to be home yet.

"Kuso, sore wa..." she sighed.

The guitarist started to get anxious when the pirates hadn't come later that evening. It was about sunset when she heard the first bomb.

The pirates were here.

Noodle heard the screams outside as the airplanes grazed the ship. People fled into their cabins, and some stayed to be escorted to the lift boats.

Her door was locked tight.

The pirates had told her to exit when the sixth bomb was dropped. So far, she had only heard two.

The screams got increasingly louder as a third bomb was dropped. A klaxon was sounded. Noodle sat up in her spot on the couch.

She was nervous.

Someone rapidly knocked on her door a few minutes later. Noodle didn't bother to answer it.

The lights flickered out for a brief second.

Her door busted open and revealed a stout looking butler. His auburn hair was slicked back nicely.

He probably would have been quite handsome if he wasn't as old as he was. He had to be at least 40.

"Madame! The ship is under attack from pirates! I've been sent to escort you to the life boats!" he chirped. Noodle found his voice obnoxious and ignored him. She stood up unexpectedly and went to her shelf above the desk.

The butler's eyebrows furrowed as she pulled down one of her suitcases and opened it.

Her Tommy gun…

It was loaded and ready to go.

"Madame?" he questioned again. As Noodle pulled the gun out of the case, he soon realized what she was doing.

"Oh…" he peeped. Noodle put on her best glare (Even though it was hidden behind the cat mask) and stormed out of the room. The lights flickered once again in the hallway as the klaxon sounded louder.

"Oh my…uhm…oh dear…"

The butler was left behind by the guitarist.

The first step of Noodle's plan had worked.

* * *

By the time Noodle got outside, the lifeboats had all been dispatched. She could see the people sailing away.

The petite woman had purposely loaded her gun with blank bullets. So, no matter how many times she fired, nothing would ever really affect the pirates. The pirates had also agreed to fire blanks from their planes, so Noodle also would be unharmed.

However, by the time Noodle fired the first round of shots, something was clearly wrong.

She wasn't firing blanks.

The bullets were real.

The even more frightening factor was that the pirates weren't firing blanks, either.

And the pirates she could see in the sky certainly weren't the ones she hired.

Noodle became panic-stricken as the pirates fired continuously at her. They came close to grazing the plane once again. She had to get them to go down.

Sweat pooled on her forehead and her stockings started slipping down her legs. Even the length of her revealing pocket dress wasn't keeping her cool.

The dastardly smiles of the pirates were dangerously close to Noodle. She fired three more rounds. Suddenly, she made a hit on the side of one plane.

"Just a little more…" she whispered to herself. Her aim was shaky behind the cat mask. The sweat that was forming on her hands wasn't helping, either.

She moved to gun a bit more to the right. She was a foot closer to hitting the main cavity of the head pirate plane.

Another few shots later she was only an inch away. She had only two more bullets left before she had to quickly reload.

She needed to make these shots count.

Noodle moved the gun a bit more to the right and hit dead on in the main cavity. She fired there again and hit the captain pirate's head dead on.

Bloody splattered across the glass, which shattered seconds later.

The plane spiraled into the water, a pool of ebony smoke following it. Noodle had a sense of pride as she watched it fall.

Lost in her sense of confidence, Noodle didn't see the plane that was coming towards the plane with a bomb.

It looked oddly similar to the bomb used in the El Manana video.

It was dropped seconds later, and the guitarist barely had time to step back and avoid it. She watched the boat's main deck set on fire.

With a few complications, the second step of Noodle's plan had worked.

But how was she going to captain the ship to Plastic Beach? She had no means of transportation, and the boat couldn't be fixed.

When she gave more thought to the subject, it seemed like the boat was going to actually sink in any minute. She had to find some sort of life boat.

As the boat sunk slowly into the water, Noodle needed to find a way out. She ran across half the boat before she tripped over something in her way.

Her Tommy gun dropped to the floor and accidently fired a shot straight into the floor. Noodle cussed and looked down at her scratched knees and hands. Splinters now covered her legs.

She shifted her gaze to what she had tripped over. It was the butler, who had been shot straight in the stomach and leg. He was stretched out in an odd position on the now blood-stained wooden floor.

His eyes were closed, giving Noodle the impression that he was dead. She frowned at the sight and felt a bit of guilt for leaving the man to die and for not listening to him. Out of respect, she tore off a piece of her stocking and covered his leg wound.

"He doesn't deserve to die like this." she said to herself.

The contact made the butler's eye twitch. Noodle moved her hand away from his leg.

"M-Madame…" he croaked. His eyes were narrowly open.

"H-Hai, sir?" she asked.

"T-The lifeboats… go get a l-lifeboat…the ship is on fire…and was attacked by pirates!" His eyes bugged out and he lifted up his weakened arm and pointed to a single yellow raft that had been forgotten.

The ship was sinking faster than Noodle expected. She needed to get this man to safety if he was still alive.

Even if she couldn't fix his wounds, at least he wouldn't die alone. A tear slid down the Asian woman's cheek.

The butler weakly glared at her as she tried to pick him up.

"No…a-absolutely not… I cannot fit in that lifeboat. Leave me here on the ship." He raised a hand in the air to protest, but Noodle put it down.

"Sir, I cannot bear to see you die alone. Gomenasai, but you're going to have to come with me." she told him.

The man twitched again.

"M-Madame…I thank you for your compassion, but I….I wish to die on this boat. It is my everything." he told her.

Suddenly, Noodle understood.

"I-If that's would you want…I'll respect it." she replied. Noodle finished covering his wounds and stood up. She bowed politely at him and scurried off to the yellow lifeboat.

"Goodbye, Madame. Have a good journey…" the butler said. He took a few more deep breaths until his lungs gave out on him quietly.

* * *

To Noodle's surprise, all of her things had been loaded into the lifeboat with her. There were only really three things: her Tommy gun case, her regular suitcase and her guitar case which housed both her acoustic and yellow Fender electric guitar. A paddle was also included so rowing to where she chose to go to would be a little bit easier.

The boat was over halfway into the water now and she saw the butler's body violently shift closer to the water.

She was also on the brink of sliding down to the front of the boat. It was like something out of the Titanic movie.

Noodle quickly launched the lifeboat into the water. It flopped down. She was extremely thankful that none of her provisions had flown out when the yellow boat hit the top of the water.

Now it was time for the difficult part: getting herself into the lifeboat. She had no idea how to succeed in performing this task.

The only way she could think of was jumping and hoping for the best. Noodle gripped the railing of the ship and climbed over it so she wouldn't fall backwards and be dragged to the front of the boat. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and jumped.

If you've ever free fallen on an amusement park ride, or if you know what it feels like, you would know that for most people it's very unpleasant.

Noodle, however, felt it was amazing. She spread her arms out like a bird.

It felt so free…so right.

She pretended to be a bird until her cat mask almost fell off. She moved her arms to her head to readjust it. Right as she was finished, she rolled herself into a ball and crashed into the water. The pain was immense, but she took it like a soldier.

After she hit the water, she swam right back up to the surface. She took a gasp of air and swam to her lifeboat, which was a good twenty feet away. The swim was tiring, and by the time she got to the boat, she could barely lift herself into it.

She gasped again and collapsed backwards on the boat. After stretching, her breathing steadied.

She was alright.

And that was how Noodle completed one of the last steps of her plan, even though it didn't really go quite as she expected.

* * *

**I'm so sorry if that bored you because of the length. I really like this chapter, though. :D**


	5. Je vous Manquer, Mais j'ai été Brisé

**I'm sorry if this chapter is a little rough. I needed to put in what happened to 2D and how Noodle is out at sea and stuff. I guess there kind of is action...I'm not sure. **

**Hope you're all well. :D**

**~Moxy**

* * *

**Chapter 5- Je vous Manquer, Mais j'ai été Brisé**

**_I missed you, but I was broken…

* * *

_**

Murdoc was upstairs fiddling around in his desk. He sighed.

There really was nothing to do on this goddamn island anymore. He twiddled his fingers and looked around at the nautical décor that surrounded him. Bold, ocean blue paint covered the walls that were covered in sea knick-knacks.

Using his wheeled chair, he scooted over to the globe that was in the corner of the room. The bassist opened the top. It was where he kept his best alcohol.

"Ooh…" Murdoc smiled and tilted his head to see what pleasures were inside for him.

Nothing. The container was totally empty.

He stomped his Cuban heeled boot on the ground like a child would and uttered a long string of curses.

How could he possibly be out of his favorite liquors and rums?

He blamed the Cyborg, although it really was his own fault.

Suddenly, a loud boom made him jump out of his chair. He landed on the hard wood floor. He cursed again and rubbed his head.

It sounded oddly like a gunshot, and it had come from 2D's room.

Murdoc sprinted over to the lift. A button was flashing on it.

It was in use.

The green skinned man jumped up and ran to the stairwell. 2D didn't know a set of stairs also lead to his room. They were easily accessible, which is why Murdoc never told him about it. It led out right behind the singer's Spider-Man figurine.

The sprint down the stairs was almost too much for him to handle. All of the booze and cigarettes were finally catching up to poor Murdoc. He finally reached the bottom and tore open the door to see the single window in 2D's room shattered by a gunshot.

The Cyborg turned towards Murdoc and saluted him, while 2D was half in the lift, half on the floor of his bedroom.

It was then that Murdoc realized that the Cyborg had tried to kill his singer. His stomach lurched when he saw the Cyborg looking at him like she had accomplished something.

Now, because of the damn android, his island was going to sink unless someone fixed the broken window.

"Cyborg!" Murdoc boomed.

"Yes, sir?" she responded. Murdoc glared at her.

"Fix the window now or I'll cut off yer f*cking head!" the bassist commanded. The Cyborg kicked 2D's legs out of the lift and proceeded to go up to the engine room to get the glass and supplies needed to fix everything.

The singer looked up at Murdoc.

"K-Kill her… get rid o' her… wot would Noodle say if she saw dat?" he whispered.

Murdoc frowned. For once, 2D was right. Cyborg Noodle needed to be annihilated.

"There ain't much I can do, mate. We need to keep 'er until Noods comes back. Who's gonna be the guitarist? Who's gonna do all the chores?" the Satanist asked.

2D didn't know how to respond. He shrugged.

"I dunno…b-but she scares me. She's gonna kill me, Muds!" he whined.

"Wot, ya don't think she's gonna kill me too, eventually?" Murdoc yelled. 2D pushed himself up against the lift doors and grimaced as deep ocean water pooled around him.

"S-She'll kill Noodle, too…if she comes back…" 2D replied.

Murdoc crossed his arms and glared at his singer. He was right again, two times in a row.

He knew that would never happen again.

"We've gotta lure her into some sorta trap." Murdoc stated. This would be a difficult feat; the Cyborg knew about everything on the island. She also had a GPS system inside of her, so she knew the layout of the island, too.

It would be hard to pull anything on her.

The lift doors opened a few minutes later. The Cyborg stepped out with a circle of glass, a screwdriver, duct tape and some heavy-duty nails.

"Faceache…just… get outta here." Murdoc motioned for 2D to go to the stairs.

The singer got up and ran upstairs as fast as he could.

Murdoc then observed the Cyborg repair the window carefully.

She needed to be killed.

* * *

Noodle had found a fault in her plan.

She had absolutely no food at all. It had been two days since she had something to eat, and she still hadn't found Russel.

The guitarist groaned. She needed something to eat.

She had been drinking her own pee for the past day, and that wasn't going to work anymore unless she ate something.

Noodle grasped her stomach as it gurgled and moaned in emptiness. She couldn't take it anymore.

Out of instinct, she bit down on her own finger as hard as she could. She screamed in pain, but her finger hadn't come off.

There were only bite marks.

Distressed, she screamed again.

"Russel-sama! Where are you?" she cried. Noodle burst into tears and pounded on the bottom of her raft.

She stopped when a bit of water poured into the raft and got onto her guitar case.

* * *

The days dragged on. Four days without food dragged onto five. Noodle was becoming dehydrated and she soon realized that she could have been drinking the sea water. She cringed whenever she drank it. The salt burned her dry throat.

It was for the best and it was the only liquid around. There was no other option.

Noodle woke up at 4 AM on her seventh day out at sea. No food, just seawater.

She sighed. She didn't even have the energy to pick up her guitar case.

The Asian woman pondered the idea of fishing. Eating raw fish wouldn't be a problem.

However, the fish could be horribly contaminated. She decided to only eat seafood as a last resort.

Just thinking about seafood lead her to think about sushi. Noodle let her mind greedily wander to food.

Hamburgers.

Sheppard's Pie.

Scotch eggs.

All of the wonderful food she had eaten in England and across the world overwhelmed her stomach. She quickly snapped out of her dream after realizing that dreaming of food just made her feel worse.

Noodle put her hand in the salty water. The tide lapped at her fingertips generously.

She sat that way for a few hours, trying to pretend to be content.

Noodle eventually fell asleep with her hand still in the water.

* * *

She woke up at around six that night, but something was wrong with her hand.

She wasn't touching water. She immediately jerked herself up and felt what she was touching.

It was awfully fleshy, and when she looked down, it was brown.

A fleshy, brown head.

Russel.

He really had come.

Noodle was still quite confused.

Why was she in the air?

She knocked on the bottom of the boat to get Russel's attention.

Russel, who was indeed carrying Noodle's raft on his head, took his massive hand and picked Noodle up. He set her gently in his palm and looked at her.

God, she looked so different. She had fully matured. Noodle wasn't his little girl anymore.

"Baby-girl, s'that really you?" he asked. He moved her mask with the tip of his finger. Noodle squirmed at his touch and nodded.

"H-Hai… please don't touch my mask, Russel-sama."

Russel frowned. She'd changed.

"We're only a few days away from Plastic Beach. Have you eaten?" he asked. Noodle frowned.

"No. I haven't eaten in a week." she said. Her stomach lurched inside of her again, and she instantly grabbed it. Russel, alarmed, grabbed something out of his one dry pants pocket.

"Here, I was savin' it for ya."

He handed Noodle a small plastic case of sushi, with wasabi and little pieces of green grass-like wrapping on it. He also gave her a thermos of chai tea.

Noodle quickly bowed to Russel and dove into her miniature feast. The seaweed stuck to her cheek. She drank the tea so fast it dribbled down her face.

The drummer smiled and set Noodle back in her raft again.

"Russel-sama, where have you been?" Noodle asked after eating.

Russel hesitated. He had been stuck in Brooklyn, feeling soulless and alone.

That is, until he got Noodle's phone call.

"I-I was in Brooklyn… but I was horrible, ya know? Just…the empty feelin' I got when I woke up every morning was horrible. I couldn't make music anymore." he said quietly.

A silence fell over the two of them.

A minute later, Noodle reached down and rubbed his head.

"It'll be ok, Russel-sama. I'm sure of it."

She put on the best smile she could muster.

"Thanks, Baby-girl…thanks." He reached up and patted her head.

"We'll get through this journey… it's almost over." Noodle told him. Russel nodded and Noodle had to hold on for dear life so she wouldn't fall.

Little did they know that their journey was just beginning.

* * *

**I'm sorreh if it's bad, I really, really am. :|**


	6. Ce n'est pas arrive

**Yay, this chapter is better than the last one. :D**

_**PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW AND FAVORITE! I REALLY APPRECIATE IT! ENJOY THE CHAPTER!**_

* * *

**Chapter 6- Ce n'est pas arrive

* * *

**

Murdoc quarantined the Cyborg after she finished fixing 2D's window. At first, she didn't listen.

It was pretty clear to her after Murdoc threatened to rip her battery pack out that she needed to go to her closet.

Murdoc and 2D had a peaceful yet suspicious week after that. They still knew that the Cyborg was taping their conversations with the microphones she had independently set up, so they needed to be discreet.

* * *

It was a quiet, lonely Tuesday on Plastic Beach. Murdoc was fussing with his Blackberry, while 2D was messing with the fish in the tank.

The singer knocked in the lower corner of the tank and tried to lure the pink fish out of its Spam container. He frowned.

"'Ey, Muds…how can I get the pink fish to come out?" he asked.

Murdoc looked up from his Blackberry, clearly annoyed. He opened his desk and looked for something that 2D could use. He picked up a random object and threw it at 2D's head. It happened to be a can of half opened Spam.

"Use that." he mumbled as he punched the buttons carefully on his phone. 2D smiled at his friend.

"Fanks, Muds!" he told the bassist. Murdoc wasn't listening.

2D carefully finished opening the Spam container. He broke off a small piece of the mystery meat and put it in the tank.

Suddenly, the pink fish came swimming up to retrieve the Spam. 2D flashed his toothy grin and the fish retreated back to its container as fast as it had come out.

Murdoc looked over at the singer and sneered. How could he get so much pleasure out of feeding a damn fish? He decided not to ask.

2D starting knocking on the glass tank again. Murdoc rubbed his temples and felt a headache coming on.

The knocking seemed to get louder and louder over time. Out of nowhere, Murdoc threw his Blackberry onto the floor. 2D heard it shatter and looked up at the bassist.

"Stop banging that sodding tank! The damn fish isn't going to come out unless ya give him some more of that crap ya have in yer hand!" he yelled. 2D looked down at the floor like a sad puppy.

"Is there a problem, sir? I heard yelling from my closet and my internal servers told me to come up."

Murdoc turned around. The Cyborg was standing right in front of him. At this point, he already had an aching head.

Now, he was fully enraged.

He picked up his broken phone from the ground and threw it at the Cyborg. The Cyborg offered a pleasant smile and picked up the phone.

"Do you need me to fix this?" she asked. Murdoc scowled at her.

"No, I need ya to get yer arse off my island!" he screamed. The Cyborg didn't understand.

"Sir, I cannot leave the island, I have no method of transportation." she said. Murdoc's face was becoming redder and redder by the second. 2D decided to scoot behind the couch to hide. He didn't want to see the Cyborg's head cut off, even if she wasn't a real person.

Murdoc grabbed the Cyborg by the shirt and pulled her close to his face. She made her body go limp.

"Listen to me, ya little pile of sh*t…" he growled. "I want ya off of my island. I'm sick of the crap you've been pullin'."

The Cyborg looked Murdoc in the eye and analyzed him. Her internal servers started buzzing.

Instinctively, Murdoc lifted his hand up to slap her across the face. Before he had the chance to slap her, she grabbed onto his hand.

Murdoc tried to move away, but she had him locked in a death grip. He cursed at her and tried everything, but she kept him locked in an eternal glare.

Without warning, the Cyborg's gun popped out of her mouth.

"Threat detected." she said monotonously.

Murdoc flinched and kicked her, but it was no use. He tried his best to distort her aim, and he suceeded

The Cyborg fired her gun, and it hit the leader of Gorillaz in the thigh.

* * *

Noodle sighed happily. She had been with Russel for the past three days. The great thing was that he always had food and a story to tell her.

They had been eating fresh seafood as their meals. Russel usually swallowed a shark or two, while Noodle had some clams or shrimp.

It was close to dinnertime. Noodle knew because she could see the sun right on the horizon.

"Russel-sama, is it time to eat yet?" she asked politely. Russel smiled.

"Yeah, Noods. I'll find ya somethin'." he told her. Russel put his hand inside the deep ocean until something caught his attention. He felt something lightly sting him. When he cursed, Noodle looked down.

"What's wrong?" she asked as Russel pulled his hand out of the water. He lifted his hand up so that Noodle could see the disgusting creature that was on it. It looked like a jellyfish, but it was much larger. It was a bright purple and blue color that made Noodle smile. She thought it was cute. It even had a small sailor hat that was on its head. The guitarist took the hat off and placed it on her own head.

"I think I might know what this is…" she mumbled. Russel furrowed his eyebrows in question.

"It's a Superfast Jellyfish. They're common in the areas surrounding Plastic Beach." she told him.

"How would ya know that?" he asked. Noodle looked down at her yellow raft.

"I-I researched Plastic Beach before making the decision to go there. Weird animals live there…the jellyfish…one eyed octopuses… lots of things like that. I can't wait to get a closer look at them when we get there."

Russel responded with only a brief grunt and released the Superfast Jellyfish back into the wild. It was clear that they were getting very close to the island.

Noodle looked out into the distance as Russel put his hand in the water to search for more food. He pulled out a tasty looking fish and put it on Noodle's raft. The drummer had taught Noodle how to fillet a fish and how to clean it properly. Noodle prepared it carefully and then started eating.

After Russel found a shark to eat, he popped it into his mouth and then pulled something small out of his pocket. It was a petite green Hohner melodica. He placed it gently on Noodle's raft.

"I-I was waitin' for the right time to give this to ya… 2D got it for ya a while back…before El Manana. He was gonna give it to ya after the video for doin' such a good job…" he told her.

A small tear fell from Noodle's eye. She moved her hand gently over the keys and then picked the unusual instrument up.

"I believe we'll be seeing 2D-kun quite soon…and Murdoc-san as well." she said before blowing into a melodica for the first time in years.

"No problem, Baby-girl. Glad ya like it." he said. They then continued to trudge through the ocean as the sun set.

* * *

2D peeked out from behind the couch. He was expecting to see oil spurting out from the Cyborg's head, but he saw the opposite.

Murdoc was lying face down on the ground, grasping his thigh, which was gushing with blood. The Cyborg had one of her feet on top of the bassist, looking down at him confidently.

2D covered his eyes in fear. He thought if he couldn't see the Cyborg, she could see him.

The Cyborg's eyes became glassy, glassier than they already were. A runny, black liquid ran from her eyes and mouth. She had the look of utter insanity.

An odd feeling overwhelmed 2D. A feeling of friendship and a slight bit of confidence was the easiest way to describe it. He stood up and glared at the Cyborg. She turned and looked at him. He was her next target. 2D narrowed his eyes and tried to ready himself for a fight he knew he'd lose.

The wild android's eyebrows turned down in rage and she smiled at him.

"What are you going to do now? Master is going to die, and you cannot save him." she said calmly.

"N-N-No he isn't! He won't die!" 2D stuttered. He was determined to save his best friend. He looked around the room for something that would make the Cyborg go away. There were plenty of swords, but those wouldn't do any good.

2D then thought something over.

Androids can't eat anything but oil. He looked over to the Spam that was only a few feet away from him. He slowly walked over and picked up the container that was half empty.

The Cyborg looked at what he was doing.

"Persistence is futile, you ninny!" she yelled. 2D held onto the Spam tightly and charged at the Cyborg. She sighed and ignored the blue haired man. Besides, what could he possibly do to her?

2D took a handful of Spam out of the can and shoved it at the Cyborg's mouth, which was wide open. She coughed in resistance, but a small bit had already gotten into her internal system. She buzzed and beeped rapidly before plunging to the floor. She still had the scary look on her face.

2D was breathing heavily by the time he was finished. He had successfully damaged the Cyborg. Revenge felt good, but guilt was starting to take him over. He ignored it and bent down to help Murdoc. 2D violently shook the bassist until he screamed at him.

"Faceache, get a towel and some gauze!" he yelled. 2D followed his orders promptly.

Fifteen minutes later, 2D came back with the whole First Aid kit.

"Wot took ya so long?" Murdoc complained. 2D shrugged.

"Couldn't find the kit, I guess." he said.

"You can never find anything." Murdoc retorted. 2D ignored the insult and opened the kit.

"I don't want ya touching me! Yer gonna make it worse!" the Satanist screeched. 2D quietly

scooted away and let Murdoc tend to his own wounds. He watched as Murdoc took the bullet out. More blood began to flow.

"Muds, I don't fink y-"

Murdoc cut 2D off. "I don't care. I'm takin' care of myself my way." he told him.

"But my mum was a nurse." 2D said.

Murdoc ignored the younger man and continued to improperly take care of himself.

"Go make yerself useful and drag that nasty thing down into her closet. And don't ferget to lock the damn door!" Murdoc instructed. He threw a key ring that was filled with hundreds of keys to 2D.

"The bright blue one is for 'er closet. Now go."

He pointed to the lift.

2D sighed and picked up Cyborg Noodle. Spam was dripping out of her mouth as he plopped her onto the floor of the lift. Right before 2D pressed the button to close the doors, Murdoc stopped to say something.

"Oi, Faceache."

2D turned to look at Murdoc.

"Yeah, Muds?"

Murdoc looked down at the floor, almost in shame.

Thanks…fer savin' my life. I really appreciate it, mate." he said honestly. 2D's face lit up in joy.

"But don't expect any fancy treatment or anythin'. Just…keep doin' wot ya do? Got it?" he asked.

2D nodded rapidly and closed the lift doors. He felt proud.

* * *

**:D**


	7. VingtTrois

**This the shortest chapter I've written for a reason. The next chapter is going to be very massive and may take me more than two days to complete. All of the pieces will end up falling together, so this is kind of a filler/breather chapter to catch up with the Cyborg. You'll understand once you read. _PLEASE REVIEW AND FAVORITE! IT MEANS SO MUCH, AND IT ONLY TAKES A FEW SECONDS!_**

* * *

**Chapter 7- Vingt-Trois**

* * *

The Cyborg beeped and twitched in her closet. She didn't think she would need to end up shooting her master. It seemed a little harsh to her, but it needed to be done.

She wasn't too thrilled about the actions she was going to need to take next, either.

The Cyborg had been getting odd radar signals sent to her lately. It detected a large presence a few miles away from Plastic Beach. In her little bits of free time, she would go out to the sun deck and zoom in on this object. What she found disgusted her internal servers. A large, brown mass was swimming directly towards Plastic Beach. From what she could gather, it was her band's former drummer, Russel Hobbs, and he was blown up to unrealistic proportions.

However, there was someone sitting on top of his head.

Someone she couldn't figure out the identity of.

She struggled and struggled to come up with someone she could label the person as. As the mechanical human thought over time, she realized something.

That thing on top of the drummer's head looked awfully like her. In fact, it looked too much like her.

Whenever the Cyborg tried to bring it up, Murdoc would brush it off and come up with an excuse.

The reason why she was becoming violent all of a sudden was because she was told the truth by a very unlikely source.

The Boogeyman had paid Cyborg Noodle a visit two weeks prior to all of her incidents.

* * *

_*NOTE: This is a flashback*:_

* * *

While Murdoc was fast asleep and while 2D was trying to stay sane in his underwater room, Gorillaz's most deadly enemy decided to visit Plastic Beach.

He snuck quietly through the shadows of the plastic landscape, trying his best not to be seen. He successfully travelled through the thin walls of the main building and crept all the way down to the Engine Room; the place that supplied all of the power to Plastic Beach.

It was also the residence of Dave the repairman and Cyborg Noodle.

Dave was sleeping away with his hammer still in his hand. The shadow stared at the man.

"What a buffoon…" he whispered. He slithered over to the Cyborg's closet and opened the door with a flourish of his hand. Instantly, the door opened like it had been pushed with a hard gust of wind. The Cyborg immediately stopped charging herself and looked attentively up at the intruder. She resisted the urge to attack. This intruder seemed….different.

"May I help you, sir?" she asked nicely. The vile creature only looked down at her. The Cyborg quickly analyzed his face and searched her database. The only result she found was an entry entitled "Boogeyman- Kill whenever spotted".

But the Cyborg didn't touch the Boogeyman. She didn't pull her gun out, nor did she set off any of her alarms. She only stood there and marveled at him as if he was a God.

"You will work under me now, do you understand? You will follow your master's orders, but my orders shall be put before his." he told her. As if she was in a trance, the Cyborg obliged by nodding her head.

"Your single mission is to kill the real you; Noodle. She will be arriving on your island in about two and a half weeks. Be prepared. She needs be annihilated. If you fail, I will kill your master. If he resists, he'll be trapped on this island for the rest of his life." he said monotonously.

"Master is immortal, he can't die." The Cyborg said. So many more thoughts were buzzing in her head. What did this creature mean by "the real Noodle"?

Wasn't she the real Noodle?

The Boogeyman gave her a chilling glare.

"I can kill him." he growled. The Cyborg took a step back and cowered in front of the Boogeyman.

"Now, take my hand if we have a deal. Your master's life in now in your own hands, just remember that." the shadow said. The Cyborg wasn't quite sure what she was doing when she shook the Boogeyman's hand.

She wouldn't ever figure it out, either.

* * *

_*END FLASHBACK*_

* * *

Noodle knew that her journey to Plastic Beach was almost over. She could see the island from the top of Russel's head. Each additional day they travelled, it got closer and closer. Excitement was bubbling up inside of her. She could wait to see her band mates again.

She wasn't worried about the Cyborg in the least bit. Noodle figured that Murdoc could shut her down or destroy her. After all, she was slightly sympathetic towards the robot.

It hadn't done anything wrong other than create a false image of her, which could easily be erased.

It was currently eight o'clock in the morning. The drummer and guitarist had just finished a small breakfast of crab meat.

"We should get to Plastic Beach by tonight." Russel announced. Noodle jumped with joy and almost slipped right off the raft.

After a warning from Russel, the two continued to sail off to their band mates peacefully.

* * *

"Faceache, get me some more rum!" Murdoc commanded. Ever since he had locked up the Cyborg, Murdoc had gone back to treating 2D badly. There was nobody else left to get his rum or do all of the chores around his island. 2D was the only one qualified for the job. Even though he was unable to perform most of his assigned tasks, it was better when things got done incorrectly than having them not get done at all.

At least, that's what Murdoc's philosophy was.

2D was kept busy and out of his hair for most of the day except during meals. This made satisfied, which meant that 2D had to be satisfied, too.

2D brought Murdoc his glass of rum. It was only eight thirty in the morning and this was already his fifth glass. Murdoc nodded to 2D in thanks.

"Oh, go check on Cyborg, while yer up. I need to make sure she ain't going mad again." The bassist asked.

2D froze in fear. He did _not_ want to go and check on that monster that was literally hiding in the closet of the Engine Room.

"Muds, I really don-"

Murdoc cut the singer off.

"Yer gonna go down there, and yer gonna get the job done! Now go!" Murdoc boomed. He pointed to the lift doors, and 2D was forced to oblige.

2D scurried quickly into the lift. He punched the button that lead to the Engine Room.

Maybe he could hang out with old Dave for awhile to calm his nerves.

The lift quickly descended down to the Engine Room. The creaky noise it made caused 2D to shudder. As the door opened, he saw Dave, who was working on hammering the pipes.

"'Ey Dave!" he said as he passed the repairman. Dave tipped his hat to 2D before returning to his work.

"Dave, if I yell or somefink, could ya come an' save me?" 2D asked. Dave nodded quickly, not really paying attention to the question.

Now that he had some sort of backup, the bluenette opened the door to the Cyborg's closet. However, the Cyborg didn't come out and attack him like he expected.

In fact, she was peacefully sleeping…or, rather, charging peacefully. 2D sighed in relief as he put his hand on the knob to close the door. He checked inside one last time.

He wasn't really sure if she was ok, but he didn't want to sacrifice getting locked inside with her, so he quickly closed the door and retreated.

The singer headed back to the lift, waved goodbye to Dave and then checked back in on Murdoc. Even though he had only been gone for five minutes, Murdoc had just finished off another bottle of rum.

"Everfing's fine wif 'er, Muds!" 2D reported. Murdoc chucked a rum bottle onto the floor in approval.

* * *

The Cyborg was well-aware of 2D's visit before he had come. She didn't have to worry about shutting down temporarily.

She hadn't been charging at all; she had been looking out for the real Noodle's return. Each day that she was confined, the brown mound that she had identified as Russel inched closer and closer to her beach.

If her predictions were right, she would have to destroy the intruders at seven o'clock that evening. Currently, she was preparing all of her weapons.

Cyborg Noodle had full intentions on killing Noodle.

Not even the Boogeyman would know if she would succeed or not.

* * *

**:D Review plz.**


	8. Détruire

**8 pages, 3,345 words, all pure depression and destruction. This is the saddest chapter yet, and I almost cried while writing it. I can officially say this is the best piece of writing I've ever done._ I'm begging for reviews on this one. I need to know if it's really my best work._**

* * *

**Chapter 8-****Détruire**

* * *

Six Thirty PM.

Plastic Beach.

Murdoc was sitting comfortably on his leather chair, smoking like a chimney. 2D sat next to him, reading the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine.

"Muds, weren't we in Rollin' Stone or somfink?" he asked quietly.

Murdoc took his cigarette out of his mouth and smashed it into the ashtray.

"O'course we were." the bassist replied. He rapidly picked up the last cigarette he had in his pack and lit it. 2D whined. He hadn't smoked for days.

"Go get yer own fags." Murdoc told him. "I actually need mine."

"No ya don't!" the singer replied. "Yer gonna get tha' disease ya get from smokin'!"

Murdoc scoffed at him.

"I ain't dying or gettin' any sorta disease anytime soon, Dullard." he said. After muffling more insults under his breath, Murdoc attempted to stand up.

He slowly shifted out of his chair and put his feet firmly on the ground. As he lifted himself up, a sharp pain struck his thigh.

"F-F*ck!" he screamed. The green skinned man collapsed down in his chair again. 2D, who could stand up freely, did so and glared at Murdoc.

"Muds, ya need to sit down! Yer gonna 'urt yerself even more!"

2D sounded like a nurse.

Murdoc sighed and put out his cigarette. He didn't like being disabled.

* * *

Cyborg Noodle checked her cameras again.

Over the last few days of confinement, she devised a plan to eliminate Noodle. She knew of the pirates that would sometimes attack the beach. She had also blown a few of their heads off.

The android came in contact with them two days prior in need of assistance. After hours of debating, she reached a deal with them.

If they came and corrupted the island, they could have Murdoc Niccals' head.

Once again, the Cyborg had no idea what she was doing. She wasn't really sure what the pirates wanted.

She was only trying to efficiently use her negotiation plug in that Murdoc had originally installed into her. She thought he would be proud.

It was now six forty five. The pirates would be coming in fifteen minutes on boat and in planes. What she didn't know was that these pirates were the same ones the real Noodle dealt with.

They had told the Cyborg that there was indeed another Noodle out there somewhere. They didn't know her whereabouts, but they were also seeking revenge on her. It sounded like the perfect plan.

Six fifty. The Cyborg counted down the minutes within her internal clock. It wouldn't be long before she was the only Noodle.

However, she felt slight pity for this "real" Noodle. Who was she? Was this girl like herself? Was she even mechanical?

She hastily unplugged all of her charging wires and snuck over to the small computer Murdoc kept in her closet. It was already on.

The Cyborg wasn't too sure how to use a PC. After a minute of searching her databases, she figured out instructions.

She opened up a web browser and promptly searched "Noodle Gorillaz". Thousands of results popped up instantly. Such technology amused her. It had the brain power of a super human, yet it was completely vulnerable. She was the exact opposite.

After going through countless pictures and Wikipedia articles, the android learned the truth.

She was merely a replacement of the real Noodle. The realization took a while to register in her computer mind. Murdoc had made her from Noodle. She _was _spawned **f**rom Noodle's DNA. She read and read as much as she could. She was surprised at how different she was from the real Noodle.

The real Noodle was so…substantial.

So…solid….

The Cyborg couldn't quite interpret these feelings. Obnoxious beeps and buzzes came out of her synthetic mouth. She wasn't real at all.

She was a fake.

A loser.

Six fifty nine.

D-Day had arrived.

* * *

"Murdoc, are those planes out there? I fink there's a pirate ship, too!" 2D chirped. He was standing at the window carefully blowing hot air onto it. He'd sometimes make shapes into the condensation. It entertained him.

Murdoc lifted himself from the chair steadily. He had been trying to do this for the past half hour. Finally he had gotten the technique down at the right time. He limped over to where 2D was standing and wiped his moisture drawings from the window. 2D whimpered and stepped aside willingly.

"Get me the damn telescope." he growled.

The pirates were back.

2D ran a few feet away and pulled the telescope over to the bassist. Murdoc snatched it off of its perch and opened it fully. He took a closer look at the ship.

"Those are pirates all right…" he whispered. Directly after this discovery, planes were hovering over the island. Their blaring engines made the island shake.

"Faceache….get all the sh*t ya might wanna save… the island might not make it through this."

A massive pirate fleet and twenty armed planes were outside, ready to sink Plastic Beach to the ground.

* * *

The Cyborg picked herself up from the computer. It was seven on the dot. She grabbed her hat and secured it onto her head. Soon after, she proceeded to get all of the weapons she carry.

Machine guns.

Tommy Guns.

Rifles.

Shotguns.

Everything.

She moved her metal hand to the door knob. She jerked it to the left and the right. It wouldn't budge.

After a few bleeps of frustration, she removed her gun from her mouth and shot the door hinges. The door fell down in an instant and was accompanied by a loud crash.

Old Dave looked up from his work for the first time in hours to see the sight. Oil was running out of the Cyborg's eye again, making her look deadly. She smiled at the mechanic.

Dave scooted himself into a corner. Never did he know that the mechanical being that was usually dormant in the closet could hurt him.

"P-Please, luv! Don't kill meh, I've got a family!" he pleaded. She stepped closer to him.

Sweat poured down the man's forehead. What had he done wrong?

The Cyborg pointed her mouth gun to his neck. Her aim was dead on.

She fired the shot seconds after, killing Plastic Beach's repairman instantly.

* * *

2D was down low in his room, gathering all of the things that were important to him. He could only carry a handful of things in his bag. He took only his clothes, his painkillers, a box of memories from Kong, and his acoustic guitar. His room looked anything but sparse. He looked around in agony. The azure haired man had always had a few moments in his life when he was sure that he was going to die. This was by far the worst.

In anger, he yelled and knocked over his dresser. He couldn't take it anymore. Without Noodle and Russel, he was forced to hold it all in. Something glass hit the floor, and 2D stopped crying out.

A picture frame had hit the floor. It was quite a nice frame too, decorated profusely.

The picture inside it made his heart twinge in guilt for his actions.

Noodle. It was a picture of Noodle and him. He tried to contain his sadness for a minute longer. He tried to push the feelings down his throat.

But he couldn't do it. He needed Noodle to do it. Without Noodle, he felt so helpless.

So alone.

"Damn it, Noodle!" he screamed. Tears flooded down his cheeks and onto the frame.

"I need ya!" he sniffed. "I need ya right now!"

The man grabbed his Stylo mask and put it over his head.

Things were going to be ok. They had to be.

* * *

Meanwhile, Murdoc was in the Studio trying to save everything he could. Mix tapes, guitars, even the drum machine.

He was mainly concerned with grabbing El Diablo and running out. Too many memories haunted this room for him to leave without taking some extra things.

One of the last things he grabbed was the original recordings of all of the albums. He threw them into his bass case without looking back. There were only a few items left in the room, unlike 2D's situation. The final thing that caught his eye was a bright yellow golden Fender Telecaster guitar. It shined brightly in the bits of sunset that were visible.

"Noodle…" he slurred. He was slightly drunk, but very well aware of the object's significance.

He grabbed it quickly and made a mad dash for the lift. The pain in his thigh was becoming unbearable. He pressed the button that lead to the roof and waited anxiously for the lift's arrival. The planes were buzzing more rapidly outside.

The Satanist knew this was going to be a showdown.

* * *

The Boogeyman was waiting quietly outside for his pirate minions to form around the island. He was finally getting the revenge he wanted. He even had Murdoc's mechanical slave on his side.

When he thought about the so-called slave, he wondered where she was. She promised him that she would be out to kill Noodle. So far, this promise hadn't been fulfilled yet. He saw his army forming in a circle around the plastic island. This was it.

He was going to win, and he was pretty damn proud of himself, too.

Murdoc Niccals wasn't an easy man to capture, and neither was his guitarist. Now, he had both of him so close to being in his clutches. It wasn't even funny.

The ghostly being flew from the sky to the roof of Plastic Beach to look over the horizon. He could see the Gorillaz drummer and guitarist approaching the island. Hopefully, they weren't seeing anything that was going on.

Almost unexpectedly, the band's bassist and synthetic guitarist came up out of a trap door from the floor. The Cyborg was fully armed, unlike her master.

Murdoc's face flushed when he saw his sworn enemy right in front of him. The two exchanged glares.

"You're going to die today, Niccals." he whispered. Murdoc limped back a step.

The Boogeyman looked to the Cyborg for assistance. She was to shoot Murdoc a second time, just as they had planned. When the Cyborg didn't move, he knew there was a problem.

Blank thoughts went through the Cyborg's head. She would have to shoot her master in a matter of seconds because of a bond she made with a mere shadow. Why had she done this?

After a few buzzes and beeps, Murdoc and the Boogeyman were staring at her, waiting for a move.

"Well, what are ya going to do, ya stupid machine? Shoot 'im like I told ya or watch me kill 'im myself?" the shadow asked. The Cyborg still stood there.

"I-I…am going to protect my master." She said authoritatively. She picked up her guns and shot at the Boogeyman with a smile on her face. The ghastly figure shuddered as the bullets hit his cape. Bullets caused him pain, but no death. He couldn't die.

He fled off of the roof and over to the fake grass that covered the island. There, he found a statue to hide under. However, the Pazuzu statue did no good for him. Instantaneously, the statue which was once featured on the cover of D-Sides was smashed to bits, leaving the Boogeyman to be an open target.

"Men, FIRE!" the Boogeyman yelled in a husky voice. He then jumped off of the island and plunged into the water. He was barely able to swim.

When he got onto the main pirate fleet, his armies of ghost men were waiting for his command. All the Boogeyman did was raise a single finger pointing directly to Plastic Beach and Murdoc Niccals. The pirates accepted the command wholeheartedly and shot as much as they could. Deadly horsemen ran into Plastic Beach. Although they were invisible to the touch, they rammed into the side of the island hard, making it shake even more than it already was. If they smashed it hard enough, Plastic Beach could tip over on its side instantly.

Murdoc wasn't fazed by this in the least bit. In fact, as the Cyborg ran down to the Plastic Beach lobby, he put on a spectacular game face. His tongue was out and his smile was flawless.

"Bring it on, Old Man…" he whispered.

* * *

Down by the entrance of the island, the door had been fiercely knocked down by the Cyborg's guns. Smoke poured from the hole that was left, and out stepped the mechanical, one woman army that was Cyborg Noodle.

It was her island. She needed to save it.

She showed off to the pirate crowd by shooting at them. What she didn't know was that every single one of them was a ghost; they couldn't be shot at or killed.

Back on the pirate ship, the Boogeyman spawned more and more crew members every second. He raised his arms up into the air in triumph. He had already won. When he raised his arms again, ten more planes came out from the distance and started shooting at the beach. Soon, thirty planes were aiming directly at Murdoc Niccals.

Murdoc saw the planes coming directly at him. He had already started making a move to go back down to the Study. Before he could make his way carefully down the stairs, a bullet grazed his shoulder. As a small patch of crimson appeared on his white shirt, he made a mad dash for the door. He knew he wouldn't be able to make it down the stairs in time, so he promptly jumped down.

Murdoc landed with a thud onto the hard mahogany floor. The green skinned man had broken out into a cold sweat since the moment he saw the Boogeyman. Now, a mix of blood, sweat, and tears trickled down from his face to the floor. He then realized that a shard of glad had hit his face. The pirates had destroyed the main window of the Study. The plane hovered right in Murdoc's line of vision.

As the pirates claimed the top half of the island, it was clear that Murdoc had no idea what to do. He was going to go down in any second.

* * *

The Boogeyman hadn't forgotten about 2D. He didn't mind the singer very much, but he would still have to be annihilated along with the slob of a bassist that inhabited the island. So, the Boogeyman prepared a lovely surprise for 2D: the whale.

As 2D shook violently in his room, he heard the whale creeping up on him. Its slow movements made the bottom tip of the island shake. Once only its eye was visible in 2D's window, the bluenette knew he was going to die in the agony caused by his cetaphobia. He winced as the whale pressed itself against the window. He heard the glass beginning to crack. Instinctively, he grabbed his pill bottle and popped six capsules into his mouth.

He sniffed. Things weren't going to be ok.

* * *

The firing outside hadn't stopped at all. Murdoc watched from the lobby door. Tattoo had been shot dead a while ago, his small Asian body lying on the floor. The only thing that would have even remotely brightened Murdoc up was Tattoo's usual chant to him when he came to the lift.

"The lift, the lift boss!" would have meant so much to him right now.

Murdoc wiped a tear from his cheek. His island was going to perish today. He didn't even know where his bass was anymore, which had also meant that he had lost Noodle's Telecaster. He looked on in shame as another part of the main building toppled to the ground. There was nothing else he could physically do anymore; he was immobile. The old man sunk to the floor. Tears flowed down his cheeks. This was the first time in Murdoc Niccals' entire life that he had ever cried. It felt so good to let it out. He had never done it before.

The Satanist cried and cried. It was almost over. He could just be killed by the Boogeyman and rot in Hell for the rest of time. Soon, the man's mind wandered to 2D. He had seen the whale a few moments before and thought about his singer's fate. The most likely prediction was that 2D would sink along with the island. He assumed the same for the Cyborg, who was shooting at the pirate ship that very moment.

Suddenly, Murdoc picked his head up and looked into the distance. What he saw shocked him. It was Russel. His drummer had come back to him.

Was it really true? The truth was clear when he picked up the horrid whale and tossed him into the side of the Boogeyman's main pirate fleet. The sickening cracking noise it made from hitting the side of the ship made Murdoc's stomach churn. It was a beautiful sight to see the ghosts perishing down into the sea along with the ship. The Boogeyman managed to escape. He still had a whole other boat of ghosts and another fleet of planes.

Russel made his way over to Murdoc and picked him up with his hand. Murdoc shook in fear of the large man. How had he become so massive?

"R-Russ…how are ya?" he asked casually. Russel smiled at the bassist. Planes were still firing everywhere. To protect Murdoc, Russel put his hand over Murdoc to shield him. He was so large that bullets didn't matter. They even kind of tickled.

"I'm doin' ok, Muds, I'm doin' ok. How's 'D?" the black man asked. Murdoc avoided his gaze.

"Dunno…'e's kinda…trapped downstairs." he said. Russel almost dropped Murdoc.

"Muds, go get him outta there! I'll take care of these bastards out here." Russel commanded. Finally, Murdoc was listening to someone other than himself.

Murdoc nodded as he was placed on the ground. He slowly limped to the lobby again and entered the blood stained lift. Even though there were very few people on Plastic Beach, the crimson liquid was still everywhere. Murdoc mashed the button that lead to 2D's room. He had to get down there before the singer killed himself from agony.

* * *

2D was collapsed on his bed with a bottle of meds in his hand. He had obviously overdosed. When Murdoc ran to him, he was clearly unconscious.

"Faceache, come on! Wake up, ya Dullard!" Murdoc's voice was unsteady. Had the singer truly died? He shook 2D violently. He wasn't showing any signs of waking up.

Murdoc stood up and limped across the room to the broken picture frame that was still on the floor. Noodle…and 2D together. The picture made him smile slightly. His mind then wandered back to 2D's current state.

He limped back to 2D and looked down on him. The only man that he could call his best mate might have been dead. It was then that the bassist regretted all that he did. All of the beating, all of the insults, everything derogatory that he had ever said to the singer now became a shameful memory. His green skin paled to a light olive and a single tear slid down his cheek. He couldn't lose his singer. He wouldn't stand for it.

He reached down and took the younger man's shoulders and shook them again. It was no use.

"Come on Stu… come on…yer awright…" he prompted. Still nothing. Just as he was about to lose all hope, he heard an odd noise coming from the lift.

Someone was coming down. The bassist focused on 2D as much as he could. The lift could be holding a pirate that could come down and kill him.

"Oh sweet Satan…please…" he whispered.

The lift doors opened slowly, yet Murdoc still kept a strong hold on his best friend.

However, a very different person came out from the lift.

"M-Murdoc-san…" a sweet voice called out. "R-Russel-sama has sent me down to assist…" it said.

Murdoc looked behind and saw his real guitarist standing right in front of him.

"My god…Noodle…" he said with a smile. She had grown so much. She wasn't the awkward teen he had seen five years ago. She was a woman.

He quickly ran from 2D's side and embraced the young guitarist with the little strength he had left. Noodle hugged back and kissed Murdoc's cheek.

"Noods…damn, I missed ya so much…so, so much…" he told her. Noodle nodded into his shoulder. Neither of them wanted to let go.


	9. Réunis

**Sorry for the little lack of updating. This took a while to write. I think the end is slightly lacking. -_-**

_**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! IT MEANS A LOT!

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**Chapter 9-Réunis**

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* * *

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Murdoc Niccals was crying for the second time that day. Finally, his guitarist was back where she belonged: with her family. The old man tightened his arms around her and kissed her cheek.

Noodle's face flushed to a pink color.

"'How've ya been, poppet?" he asked before pulling away from her. Noodle looked down to the floor.

"I-I've…managed." she replied vaguely. Murdoc decided not to question her. He would save that later. His main concern right now was 2D.

The bassist ran to 2D's side with Noodle on his heels. He still couldn't determine if the other man was breathing or not. Noodle lowered her head down to 2D's chest and listened for a heartbeat. After twenty seconds of listening, she lifted her head up.

"Well?" Murdoc asked. It was the most urgent tone that Noodle could ever remember.

Noodle looked down to the floor and shook her head. "I couldn't hear anything." she peeped. Murdoc's eyes went wide in shock.

He moved his head down to 2D's chest as Noodle had done a minute earlier. He closed his eyes, and for the first time in his 44 years, he prayed.

Murdoc Niccals was praying to God for the sake of his singer.

"Dun take 'im… not now…please." he cried. Noodle patted his back in sorrow as a tear slipped down her own cheek. She never remembered Murdoc and 2D ever being this close. She did know that even the slightest event could change a person.

She had experienced that firsthand.

Murdoc pounded his fist on the bed and cursed at the ceiling.

"F*ck!" he screamed. "F*ck… f*ck! No!"

Murdoc bent his head down to 2D's chest one more time. There had to be some sort of being watching down on the azure haired singer.

He pressed his ear further into the man's chest and searched for any sign of a heartbeat. Noodle stood silently next to Murdoc, eagerly waiting for a response.

The bassist slammed his eyes shut again as if it would help. Suddenly, he felt his head rise up slightly, as if 2D was breathing again. Murdoc opened his eyes and listened for a heartbeat. Was 2D breathing?

A sound came. It was faint at first, but then it grew loud enough that even Murdoc could hear it. 2D was breathing.

Murdoc picked his head up so Stuart could breathe more easily. More tears were falling down Noodle's cheeks now. Her best friend was alive.

2D's eyes slowly flickered open a minute later. He sat up and looked around the room as if he didn't know where he was. Murdoc stared at the singer the whole time.

"Stu… are ya awright?" he asked. 2D looked at him.

"Y-Yeah… jus' a headache, I fink." he replied. Murdoc glared at the man.

"Ya passed out, ya bloody moron! Ya almost f*cking died! Me an' Noodle were gonna go crazy!" he yelled. 2D looked around.

"Noodle?" he asked. Noodle stepped forward.

"H-Hai…2D-kun…I missed you." She said with a blush. 2D's eyes widened at the sight of his grown-up little Noodle.

The guitarist jumped into his arms and hugged him harder than Murdoc. 2D returned the hug just as hard.

"Lil' luv…I missed ya…I missed ya so much!" he whispered into her ear. Noodle dropped her cat mask onto the floor and hugged him with both hands.

Both of their faces were tear stained by the time they pulled away from each other. Not even the gunfire and plane roaring could break the three members of Gorillaz apart. Outside, Russel was dealing with his own problems.

* * *

With Russel's arrival, the Boogeyman's plane fleet had decreased from thirty planes down to five. The drummer barely had enough energy left in him to kill off the rest of them. He blankly waved his arm around his head and tried to knock down the planes like they were flies. His lazy tactic wasn't working at all.

Russel had been able to hold off the fleet from damaging the main building and the lighthouse. Everything else was nearly destroyed. Almost all of the boats and submarines had been hijacked. There was no escaping Plastic Beach.

Russel rubbed his temples. There wasn't anything else he could do. He looked down to see if there was anything that could help him. They only thing he saw was an android replica of Noodle. It must have been the Cyborg he had been told about.

Loaded guns were in her hand, and she was clearly looking for help. The drummer pitied her slightly, but looked down at her in anger. Seeing no other choice, he picked her up by her shirt and placed her in his hand. The Cyborg looked up at him gratefully and stifled a thank you.

She bowed mechanically before going to work shooting down the planes. One by one, the final planes fell, and the Boogeyman was staring at defeat.

* * *

The Boogeyman was inside the captain's office of his main pirate ship. He had gotten reports from his men that Murdoc, Noodle, and even 2D had fled to low ground. His plan had fallen apart.

He clacked his spindly fingers on the antique wooden desk that was in front of him. His ship looked like something out of an old pirate movie. It was made completely of a strong, mahogany wood. The sails seemed to reach to the sky.

He kept on telling himself he hadn't lost, even though he couldn't generate any more men. His ghost army had a weakness to water. If they happened to slip off of the ground, they would plunge down into the deep sea and were forgotten. This weakness had taken his army of around five hundred down to about fifty.

The door to the office turned and one of the ghosts stepped in and looked down at the floor. The Boogeyman looked at him.

"We haven't lost, have we?" he asked confidently. The ghost shifted in his place.

"S-Sir... we have only five men left. It would be in your best interest if you-" The army member was shortly interrupted.

"We have more than five men!" the shadow boomed. He refused to believe the fact that he lost. The ghost continued his sentence as if he hadn't been interrupted.

"Sir, we only have five men left. It would be in your best interest if you pulled the remaining fleets from Plastic Beach."

"We have a whole second fleet with men!" the captain screeched through his mask. The ghost gulped.

"That fleet was destroyed a few minutes ago by the large man out there." the ghost general said. Without question, the Boogeyman held his hand up and pointed his finger at the apparition that was in front of him.

"S-S-Sir…please, no! I beg of you, spare me!" he screamed. It was too late. His translucent body flowed towards the Boogeyman and disappeared into his fist.

"So impudent…" he mumbled. The caped being floated out of his chair and moved to the single window in his room. When he pushed the curtains aside, he looked down to the water.

It was stained completely red.

* * *

Murdoc, 2D and Noodle slowly crept over to the lift. The singer was still a little woozy from his overdose. He wasn't walking completely straight, and his hand was constantly on his head.

Noodle slung her arm around 2D. She looked up at him.

"2D-kun, are you alright?"

2D came to his senses and realized an arm was around him.

"Yeah, 'm fine, luv." he replied with a smile. Noodle tightened her grip around him as Murdoc slammed his hand onto the lift door button.

The guitarist looked at the singer more intently. He certainly didn't look ok.

After slamming his hand down multiple times, Murdoc finally got the lift to operate.

"Get in." he prodded.

The threesome got in and quickly went up to the lobby. Noodle had passed Tattoo on her way down to 2D's room. She wasn't very thrilled about seeing the poor Asian man's body again.

They quickly bypassed the dead body and went outside expecting bullets to still be flying. To their surprise, the environment was eerily calm.

A bullet shot out from afar. Murdoc ran to the noise, which happened to be coming from Russel.

"Why the 'ell would Russ have a gun?" the bassist asked himself. The old man looked up and saw what was in Russel's hand.

It was Cyborg Noodle, shooting the Boogeyman's men into the water. Her tactic wasn't to kill them with the bullet; she was aiming to make them avoid it and fall into the water. This plan was proving to be very successful.

Murdoc smiled for one of the first times that day. He had actually thought the drummer was going to destroy his marvelous creation. He never expected them to work together.

As the last ghost fell down into the water, an odd silence fell over the beach.

They had won. It was all over, and Gorillaz were back together again.

Russel put his hand to the ground and let Cyborg Noodle down onto the floor. The android looked up at the large man and tipped her hat to him. Her appreciation was genuinely immense.

Murdoc looked at his band. The bassist's eyes shifted to 2D, then Noodle, then up to Russel. He stopped at Cyborg Noodle.

No matter how artificial she was, she had truly helped, regardless of the issues she had caused. The issues may have overridden the good things she had done, but Murdoc had changed his mind about the machine. She wasn't completely bad. Noodle, Russel and 2D shared the same opinion.

Before the band even had a chance to greet each other again, a loud screeching noise could he heard in the distance. Murdoc squinted into the night to find the source.

The Boogeyman had risen out from his ship and was headed directly towards the five of them. Cyborg held up her guns fiercely, ready to attack.

She had to protect her master if it was the last thing she did.

"Don't." Murdoc held his hand up to stop the Cyborg. The android lowered her weapons hesitantly.

"B-But, sir…" she protested. Murdoc kept his hand up, and she knew she needed to be quiet.

The Boogeyman slowed down and stopped in front of Murdoc. He hovered a safe distance away from the Satanist.

"Mr. Niccals…" he slurred. Murdoc stepped back a bit. He couldn't die here. Not now.

"Wot do ya want?" the green skinned man asked fiercely. The Boogeyman glared through his mask, even though his expressions could never be seen.

"You know how much you owe me…" the shadow replied. Sweat started pooling on Murdoc's face, even though it was freezing.

The cold evening wind whipped across the island, making the Boogeyman's cape rise up in terror. Even Murdoc wasn't sure how much debt needed to be paid to the frightening figure that was in front of him. His eyes wandered to the sky. He had to think of a way to get out of this.

"Cyborg, shoot him." he commanded. Instantly, the Cyborg's gun popped out of her mouth and bullets eagerly made their way to the Boogeyman. As they hit his cape, rage built up inside of him.

He was sick of Murdoc Niccals hiding behind an android.

Before anyone else could register what was happening, the Boogeyman dashed over to Murdoc. He pushed and pushed until Murdoc's body hit the side of Plastic Beach.

His heavily gloved hands seized Murdoc's throat. The bassist felt a sudden tightness in his chest as he struggled for air. He was going to die.

Russel growled and moved his hand to hit the Boogeyman on top of the head. He almost touched the shadow's head until his hand was stopped by something. It was a ghastly force the drummer couldn't indentify. The only thing he could come up with was that the Boogeyman had put a force field around himself and Murdoc, who was turning more and bluer every second. There was no stopping him.

Cyborg Noodle looked on in shock, her mouth hanging open falsely. She searched her database for something to do. After unsuccessfully finding something, she thought using her own hard drive. She felt her head heat up. A small drop of oil leaked from her eye once again.

Without thinking, she charged at the Boogeyman. The android hit the force field hard. The real Noodle gasped.

What exactly was Cyborg doing?

The Cyborg stood right back up again and went back to charging. She hit the force field a few more times. She was significantly weakened by the force, yet she still charged again.

Unexpectedly, a bluish dome formed around the Boogeyman and Murdoc. It blinked a few times until it vanished. The Boogeyman was now unprotected.

The Cyborg stood up proudly and smiled at Murdoc before collapsing onto the ground. The Satanist was regaining his normal green complexion again, and was thoroughly confused.

Even 2D had seen what the Cyborg had done.

She had given up her life for her master.

The Boogeyman looked on in disgust. An android and four people had just defeated him and his whole entire fleet of planes and ships. He stared at the band angrily, awaiting a response.

Murdoc, who was even weaker than the Cyborg, stood up and took a good look at the Boogeyman. He was in one of his most intolerant moods ever.

Murdoc Niccals had finally had it with the mysterious creature.

"Ya can't win. I've got these four people behind me to back me up. We're Gorillaz, the most kick ass band in the world. Ya can't break us up." he preached with a smile. The Boogeyman looked up to the sky in shame.

Out of nowhere, 2D ran behind Murdoc and smiled.

"Murdoc's my best mate…and no matta wot he's done to me…I'm gonna stick by 'im…I'm gonna stick by Noods and Russ, too." he added. Noodle quickly ran and stood on the other side of Murdoc.

"Murdoc-san is right. You cannot break us up, we're a family."

Russel nodded in approval. It was then that the Boogeyman finally accepted his defeat.

"I'll be back..." he growled in a husky tone. "I'll be back…and I'll have so much more. More power, more men… and you won't even know what to do with yourself…"

Murdoc only chuckled and looked up to Russel. "Lards, would ya mind doin' the honors?" he asked. Russel smiled at the bassist.

"No problem, you cracka ass." he replied jokingly.

And, with that, the Boogeyman was flicked off the island by Russel's fingers.


	10. Comme je l'ai Regardé les Ani

**New chapter! w00t! _PLEASE REVIEW, IT MEANS A LOT!_**

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**Chapter 10-Comme je l'ai Regardé les Animaux de Couleur sur le Sol

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**

A wave of silence engulfed the four band members as they watched the Boogeyman descend into the darkness of the ocean. Murdoc, who was still regaining his state of mind, couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. He had just defeated his mortal enemy without any sort of army.

Unless you called a large man and an android an army, of course.

The bassist couldn't help but wonder about what happened to his android. He looked around until he had the idea of looking behind him. There he saw his creation spewed on the ground. Her limbs hung loosely in every direction, some of them barely attached to her body. He was the last one to see her. Everyone else was already staring.

"Murdoc-san…" Noodle murmured. "She was a good android on the inside, I think. She did not know what she was doing… but she saved you. I think she has redeemed herself quite a bit"

Everyone looked at Noodle in shock. Nobody had expected her to have an optimistic opinion of the Cyborg. Not even Russel knew she felt that strongly about her.

Murdoc nodded weakly and walked towards his former slave. This was a day of reconciliation for him. Although he didn't regret barking orders to the Cyborg every five minutes, he finally realized that he should've treated her better. He never really knew that she was more than a robot.

She was a mechanical being, striving to do her best, like a student would.

In a way, she was also like Pinocchio. She wanted to be the real Noodle. It wasn't that she wanted to top the original Noodle. She wanted to temporarily replace her for the sake of her master's sanity.

2D, although he couldn't understand any of this, felt his heart string being pulled down. He had also had a realization that day.

Regardless of the abuse, Murdoc and Cyborg Noodle were both good. They just had to search deep down to find the small bits of happiness and kindness that existed inside of them.

Murdoc picked up the lifeless android and held her in his arms. He looked up to his band and gave them the softest look they had seen in years.

"Shall we go inside?" he asked with a smirk.

* * *

2D and Noodle followed Murdoc inside his abode while Russel stayed outside and planned on talking through a window. It was the most awkward moment the band had experienced in a long time. Nobody knew what to say, and it was at least three A.M by now. None of them were tired, but going to sleep seemed to be the best alternative to talking to each other.

The Satanist stopped in the Study to stare at his castle. It was in shambles. He promptly ignored the massive mess and tossed the Cyborg to the ground, letting her hat fall off. Noodle stared at the Cyborg and hesitantly walked over to her.

The guitarist did the unexpected again and picked up her mechanical twin and placed her on the beaten up couch. She then went to grab her hat and placed it on the Cyborg's head. It was the least she could do.

Noodle found her way to the kitchen and sat down at the worn out table and chairs with everyone else. They looked at her as if she was slightly insane.

"Is something wrong?" she asked while scratching at her neck kerchief. Russel was the first to speak up. His voice blared loudly from outside.

"We…weren't exactly expecting that kind of reaction from ya, Noods…" he said. Murdoc took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it almost robotically.

Noodle shrugged it off. "That thing saved Murdoc-san's life. It deserves some form of respect, yes?"

2D nodded rapidly. "I fink she's awroight… she's not as bad as I fink. Can't we make her live again?" he asked.

Murdoc took a long drag and looked out the shattered window.

"'Er internal servers are shot. Don't think it would be worth repairin' 'er" he said monotonously. A strong gust of wind came through the window and put Murdoc's cigarette out instantly. He cursed loudly and earned a glare from Russel. It was becoming more and more like Kong.

Murdoc growled back at the drummer as he got up to get a bottle of rum.

"Noods ain't a little girl anymore, Russ. I can cuss when I want." he refuted. Russel scoffed back at the bassist. For once, Murdoc was actually right. As much as he wanted to deny it, Noodle wasn't the young Axe Princess that had lived at Kong Studios only a few years prior.

More silence fell over the four of them. Murdoc returned to the table with his full bottle of rum and consumed it within a minute.

"Wot're we gonna do, Muds?" 2D inquired softly. He was promptly ignored by everyone but Noodle.

"I-I would like to get some food…and then possibly go to bed."

Murdoc interjected. "Yer not goin' anywhere 'til ya tell me where the bloody hell you've been!"

Noodle stared down at the ground and set her cat mask onto the table. The paint on it was cracked and blood-stained. The guitarist couldn't really think of a good explanation for her absence.

"T-The best way to put it was…uh…" She struggled with her wording as she uttered her long story out to her fellow band mates. Russel already knew most of it because of their frequent boredom on their long journey to Plastic Beach. Noodle's story telling of her adventures in Hell was one of the few things that made the time pass by a little faster.

Murdoc and 2D listened intently at the horrible stories of abuse and hatred Noodle had told. Those stories quickly faded away and turned into her world travels. She told about the friends she had made and all of the culture she had observed. They had no idea their little Noodle had seen so much. The obscurities of Hell seemed to have no effect on her at all. She was almost the same Noodle that they had known, yet she was still quite different…. a bit too different.

2D noticed these changes right away. He could see that she was uptight. Whenever the singer, or, anyone else for that matter, would even barely brush past her, she would flinch.

Murdoc and Russel didn't seem to notice or care. They were too entranced in Noodle's stories. She was only twenty, yet she was more knowledgeable than all of them combined.

After an hour of chatting about her expeditions, Noodle stood up and began to head to the Study.

"Wotcha doin'?" Murdoc asked. Noodle was too busy trying to avoid stepping on glass to hear Murdoc's useless question. Agitated, he asked again.

"Noods, be careful!" he screeched while slamming his rum bottle on the table like it was a judge's gavel. Noodle turned around, walked to the table and grabbed her cat mask.

"I-Is there anywhere I could sleep?" she asked with a prominent Japanese accent. Murdoc lowered his tone and scoped out the room. He then directed his attention outside to huge, unharmed lighthouse that was standing there. The bassist pointed out the window, causing his bony finger to get whipped by the wind.

Noodle walked over to him, grabbed her cat mask and put it on, and then squinted out the miniscule eye holes into the darkness. Plastic Beach was only slightly illuminated outside. A bit of paper lanterns hung across the island and that was it. The kitchen was lighted by a small fluorescent light that was flickering on and off. It was currently off permanently.

The lighthouse looked like a good home for her until she could get an official room on the main island. It looked like a cozy hideaway compared to the main building. It was the only place on the island that had a soft, welcoming feeling.

"I'll take it." Noodle replied with a hidden smile. Murdoc stood up and caused the chair to scrape on the already scratched linoleum floor.

Murdoc pointed to Russel's hand, which was already placed right outside the window so she could be carried to her new room. Noodle climbed over Murdoc and out the window, struggling to stay balanced. She plopped carelessly into Russel's open palm. Her bags and cases were already sitting there waiting for her.

* * *

Her trip to the lighthouse was quick. Noodle grabbed her things and slid off of Russel's palm, thanking him with a bow.

"Baby-girl, take off that mask." he exclaimed. "You look so pretty without it."

Noodle shook her head and started towards the lighthouse. A yell came from inside the main building of Plastic Beach. The drummer was able to make it out clearly, but Noodle couldn't hear much at all.

"Mudz says to turn the light on at the top of the tower. It'll brighten things up around here."

Noodle nodded and pulled up her socks that were descending down her thighs.

"Hai…thank you, Russel-sama. I will see you in the morning." she said monotonously. And, with that, Noodle stumbled into the tower. She was alone for the first time in weeks.

* * *

The guitarist looked around the empty room. It oddly resembled the inside of her windmill island. Thinking of it launched her into a deep state of thought.

She remembered tastefully decorating her windmill perfectly inside and outside. When Murdoc told her to remove all decorations for the shooting of El Manana, she was crushed inside. Once everything was taken down, it all looked so bare and lonely.

The guitarist switched back to reality and realized that the room was dark, with the exception of a single light bulb that was burning on the other side of the room. Noodle headed towards the stairs of the tower and climbed them to the top. A large light bulb inside a glass dome met her there. She was unsure of how to turn it on. She could barely see anything at all; the light of the single bulb didn't go very far.

The one good thing about the darkness was that it provided Noodle a perfect panoramic view of Plastic Beach through the obscurely shaped glass panes of the dome. She looked around for a few minutes before going to search for something to turn the light on again.

After a thorough search of the room, Noodle finally figured out that the switch was right on the side of the bulb. She clicked it, not realizing how bright the light would be. Even with her cat mask on, the huge light blinded her. She brought her hand to her face to block it.

The guitarist sat by the edge of the dome and stared out until the sun rose about an hour later. It was one of the most pulchritudinous sunrises she had ever seen. She was never one for sunrises. She had only stayed up to look at the sunsets when she was travelling with Russel.

Her opinion had changed now. She made a mental note of waking up at five A.M every day to see the sunrise.

She hoped she would remember, for the sake of her sanity. She only needed one beautiful thing a day to keep her going.

This would be her beautiful thing for a long time.


	11. Voulez

Sorry for the lack of updates, school's been in the way. Enjoy the chapter. **_ PLEASE REVIEW, IT MEANS SO SO SO SO SO MUUUCH TO ME!_**

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**Chapter 11-Voulez

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2D gazed at the sunrise that was beginning to form. The sundeck was a wonderful place to get a good view of the whole island. He couldn't remember the last time he had been out there. The sun began to cast a long shadow on his face. The singer squinted and stared at the sun for a few seconds before shading his eyes with his hands.

"Don't stare at the sun so long, 2D-kun." a sweet voice said from behind him. He turned abruptly and came face to face with Noodle.

Just thinking about her made him happy. Even though she had only been back for about a day, he couldn't stop looking at her. He knew it wasn't a romantic kind of attraction he had for her; he just enjoyed having her in his own presence.

Noodle smiled when he turned to her. The guitarist walked over and stood next to him.

"The sunrise is pretty, eh, 2D-kun?"

2D nodded. He moved his hand across the railing of the balcony uncomfortably.

"Was the lighthouse awroight last night?" he asked sleepily. He hadn't gotten any sleep, but it would give him some energy knowing Noodle slept well. She pulled on her cat mask, which was tightly fastened across the side of her face. Wearing it sideways was a hobby of hers now. She was tired of not showing her face.

Noodle shook her head. "I didn't sleep at all. I suppose it was the adrenaline keeping me up."

2D frowned. "Ya need some sleep, lil' luv."

The guitarist shrugged and leaned on the railing.

"I'm not a little girl anymore." she said harshly. 2D scratched his head and looked down at the ocean.

She was right, as much as he wanted to ignore it. He couldn't treat her like a kid anymore.

"Ya still love me though, right?" he asked. Noodle blushed and redirected her stare at the sunrise, which was at its own climax.

After realizing what he said, the bluenette turned to Noodle to clarify.

"Yer like the sister I neva 'ad…it's like that."

Noodle's cheeks refused to return to their normal peach tone. They chose to remain rosy and noticeable. 2D ignored it as best as he could. He couldn't help but wonder if Noodle had any kind of feelings for him. As the sun stopped climbing higher into the sky, the Asian woman pulled her best friend into a hug.

"I-I missed you, 2D-kun…" Her face turned from rosy to tomato red. 2D returned the hug, not realizing the emotions Noodle was displaying on her face. He pushed her hair out of her face gently, not wanting to hurt the bruise that affected her right eye. It was then that he realized that Noodle's hug could be more than just childish affection.

"Somefing wrong, Noods?" he asked nonchalantly. Noodle looked up at him and pulled her cat mask over her face.

"Not at all." she replied. She felt that she could speak freely under the protection of her mask. It gave her an odd sense of comfort that she had never felt before.

The only other place she felt anything similar to it was when she hugged 2D. A warmth rose inside of her as she gazed into his eyes. Her feelings weren't romantic. At least, they didn't feel romantic. It seemed to be something along the lines of a deep longing. She needed his attention as much as he needed hers.

The two band members stood in each other's arms on the sundeck for about the remainder of the morning. It was exactly what they had been both longing for since their abrupt departure from each other.

* * *

Murdoc had been sitting in his lair since early that morning. He was trying not to look up anything in particular except how to get Russel back to his normal size. The bassist absent-mindedly flipped through his books, barely skimming the words. He was only doing so because Russel had threatened to smash him to bits after Noodle entered the lighthouse. The old man wasn't certain that there was a way to shrink Russel to his normal size, but he still agreed to search anyway.

He just didn't want to get squished.

As he continued to flip through the remaining books, a single book caught his eye for the millionth time. It was _the_ book, the locked one which he kept on a shabby metal stand. It probably had the exact cure for Russel's issue in it. As far as he knew, it contained everything he would ever need to know. However, since the Stylo incident, he had lost the key to the lock.

Just having the book in front of him had been making him crazy for months. He had been ignoring it for as long as he could remember.

He turned away from the book like he usually did and continued browsing his limited selection of books. The rest of them were upstairs. The green skinned man had no choice but to go and face the light of day, much to his disgust.

He found Noodle and 2D walking down the stairs into the Study as he emerged from his lair. He tried to ignore them so he could get his work done.

"Hello, Murdoc-san." Noodle said politely while removing her mask. Murdoc mouthed profanities and turned towards the singer and guitarist. A genuine smile was plastered across Noodle's face. He stared at her, realizing that he hadn't seen her smile like that since she was sixteen.

Noodle's expression changed, and the Satanist scratched his head.

"Sorry, luv." he mumbled. "Just 'aven't seen ya smile like that fer awhile." Noodle's face lit up again.

"When was the last time yew smiled, Muds?" 2D asked. Murdoc shrugged nonchalantly.

"There's no reason to be 'appy." he replied. The bluenette chuckled.

The sound of 2D's laughter annoyed the bassist enough to make him slap him. As his hand collided with 2D's face, a wicked smile appeared on his own wrinkled profile.

"That's what makes me happy." he cackled as he marched off to the bookshelf next to his fish tank. He kept most of his voodoo Satanist books over there, where hopefully nobody would get near them.

Noodle looked at Murdoc in shock. She had almost forgotten the violence that had taken place between Murdoc and 2D in the past. The Asian woman tried not to think of any of that anymore. She was striving to make this part of her life as peaceful as it used to be.

Or, as she thought, her life before Hell. Those times of innocence seemed so distant from where she was now. She wasn't a little eight year old girl anymore. This thought had been bubbling in her brain for so long, ever since El Manana. She felt that falling from the windmill had given her the freedom she had needed for so long. It signified so much for the young guitarist; she felt independent and free to do what she desired for the first time of her life. This lust for independence had started brewing when she went to Japan before Demon Days. Being without the boys made her feel so confident and accomplished; she didn't want it to end.

But now, she wanted those times back. She took a step towards Murdoc and grabbed the back of his shirt. The man spun around to look at her, while 2D was rubbing his tender cheek.

"Wot?" Murdoc asked. Noodle looked completely enraged. Her face was turning to a scarlet color.

"Don't you dare hurt 2D-kun again! I've had enough violence in the past few years to last me a lifetime!" she screamed. Murdoc covered his ears, annoyed at the noise the girl was making.

"Tone it down, Noods." he barked. Noodle stepped closer to him.

"I have barely been here for two days! I have had no steady home for over three years! Do you really think that I'm able to tolerate any of this? Seeing the bodies yesterday almost made me sick!" she continued. Murdoc, who completely forgot the strong emotions that occurred to him the day before, brushed off Noodle's anger. A tear rolled down the guitarist's cheek.

"Fine…I won' hit him much. I really can't help it when e's stupid, though." the green skinned man complained. Noodle clenched her hands into tiny fists. Regardless of her age, she still couldn't stand Murdoc's rotten appearance or attitude.

"He is not stupid. Please don't call him that and get back to helping Russel-sama. I want him to get better so we can leave this horrible place." she said more calmly. Murdoc's eyebrows cocked up at the sound of leaving Plastic Beach. Of course he wanted to leave, but he had no idea that Noodle shared the same opinion.

However, something was holding him back. Not the lack of supplies, not the lack of scantily dressed women; it was something different. Some kind of feeling inside of him urged him to stay.

That feeling came out when he spoke again.

"We can't leave." he muttered. Murdoc fingered the books on the shelf carefully, looking for the correct one that could have the possible solution to Russel's size problem. Noodle sighed. That was the response she expected.

"Murdoc-san, there's no food here!" she groaned. At that moment, her stomach rumbled promptly.

"Noods is right, Muds… we 'ave no food." 2D chimed in. He was now sitting uncomfortably next to the dead cyborg on the couch. Her dead eyes stared into 2D's blank ones. He shifted in fright.

"Shut up, ya twerp." Murdoc retorted. Noodle scowled at the man's behavior.

"Look, Noods, we'll leave after we record some sort of demo tracks. You can write 'em for all I care, jus' make 'em good." Murdoc told her. He was only looking for an excuse to stay.

Noodle shook her head. "Where's the studio here, anyway?" she asked.

Murdoc pointed to a door near the bookcase door. Noodle started towards it but stopped at the lift.

"Please find the cure for Russel-sama instead of fighting with me..." she said quietly before opening the door.

Murdoc had no choice but to oblige. He didn't like seeing Noodle unhappy, nor did he enjoy fighting with her.

* * *

Within a few hours, Murdoc had found a cure, 2D had found his way into the Studio, and Noodle had recorded more than one excellent demo.

By the end of the day, Murdoc and Noodle found themselves alone in the Study, watching an old film on the theatre-like television. The room was quite dark, with the exception of the broadcast that appeared on the projection screen.

"How do you get television reception out here?" Noodle asked. Murdoc shrugged.

"We use some sorta satellite. You oughta ask Dave, the repairman downstairs." he replied. Noodle bit her lip and responded with a simple "Oh."

After a few minutes, Noodle got bored of the production.

"Can't we watch something interesting, like a zombie movie? Or maybe Pokemon?" she suggested. Murdoc stuck his tongue out in disgust.

"Who do ya think I am, Faceache?" he asked. Noodle sighed in disappointment.

Murdoc, who didn't like to see his Axe Princess distraught, changed the channel to something that would interest her. A recognizable anime flashed onto the screen, making Noodle smile brightly.

"That smile…" Murdoc mumbled. Noodle paid no attention to him and became engrossed in the television.

Whenever she smiled, he got a fuzzy feeling inside of himself. He didn't know what it was. Seeing Noodle happy seemed to make him happy lately. The bassist wouldn't smile about it, he would only get that feeling. It made his stomach churn as if he was drunk.

He lit up a cigarette and put it to his mouth. Noodle turned and looked at it longingly. Murdoc gazed at her and held out the box of Lucky Lungs to the girl. Noodle heartily took one and put it in her mouth.

Before she could ask for a light, Murdoc bent down and lit it for her.

"Arigato…" she mumbled as she took a drag. Murdoc smiled for the second time that day.

"No problem, luv."


	12. Yes

This chapter is long because...it just is. XDDD Please enjoy some fluffy goodness. PLEASE REVIEW, IT MEANS SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO MUCH!

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**Chapter 12-Yes**

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Noodle spent most of her time in her lighthouse that next day. Murdoc was right outside, working on Russel's antidote. She had no idea where 2D could be. He had been laying low since Murdoc had hit him again.

The lighthouse was now starting to look more like home. The guitarist used her designing skills to the best of her ability. After mucking around in some of the closets of the main building, she managed to find some old, torn Japanese screens and scarlet red paint. These tools proved to be very helpful in making her new abode more comfortable.

She had finished the job at around noon, since she had been up at sunrise. A few thick coats of paint brightened up the three stories of her house. On the first story was a living area with a worn couch, the second story was something that could eventually become a bedroom and the third story housed the large light that shone around Plastic Beach every night. Noodle never forgot to turn it on.

Her next objective was to ask Murdoc for a bed, and possibly more cigarettes. She didn't smoke very often; only when she was stressed or confused. She had picked up the habit from the rest of her band members; however, she didn't exactly chain smoke as much as they did.

As she sat down on the third floor to watch Murdoc's work, she pondered the idea of leaving the island again. It seemed like a distant thought now that her temporary home had become cozy and inviting. As much as she loved her room in Kong, she though Plastic Beach needed its fair share of use.

A small knock came from downstairs, and Noodle eagerly went down and answered it. She wanted to show whoever it was who was coming in her new paint and interior design job. The designing was still a work in progress, but it still made her happy.

She opened the door and came face to face with 2D, who smiled brightly at her.

"'Mornin, luv." he said with a long yawn. Noodle bit her lip.

"It's afternoon, 2D-kun…" she replied with a slight laugh. 2D, as dim-witted as he was, laughed along and stepped inside the lighthouse and looked around. It looked so much more spacious than the last time he had been in there for the pirate radio broadcast.

She blushed as he entered and looked around. "The place looks great…" he mumbled. Noodle beamed and turned all the way around, giving her a full panoramic view of the room.

"Hai…I finished the paint job earlier." she said. 2D pulled a small thermos out of his pocked and handed it to Noodle.

"Russ wanted me to bring this to ya… 'e said ya needed somefing to eat." he told her. Noodle hastily took the container from his hands and found a freshly made serving of ramen. She looked up at him as he took a fork out of his pocket.

"Arigato…" she whispered. The guitarist took the fork and began eating like a pig. She hadn't eaten anything since the night before.

2D watched her eat for a moment before wandering over to Noodle's acoustic guitar that was propped onto the wall. He touched the strings with his calloused hands, listening to the notes dimly come out. Noodle's guitar was always perfectly in tune, while his was never accurate. He hadn't heard proper guitar notes in a long time.

A minute later, Noodle strode over to 2D. She picked up her guitar and looked down at it.

"I haven't played in such a long time…" she whispered. The singer looked at her like she was crazy. Almost every memory he had of Noodle involved her guitar. She used to treat it like a little brother or sister.

Noodle sat down on the rickety old couch and strummed the notes. The melody she began to play flowed sweetly through 2D's ears. She looked over to him and stopped playing.

"Don' stop…" he mumbled. She didn't listen to him, however, and went over to her guitar case to play out a sheet of paper.

The notes she scribbled down with her old pen confused 2D greatly. He hadn't read actual guitar notes in years. He had been simply playing what he could understand for as long as he could remember.

Noodle set down her pen and began to play once again. 2D plopped himself on the wooden floor next to her, his ears begging for more of the stunning sound. This process continued for fifteen more minutes; Noodle would play and write down notes while 2D would hum along or just watch. Both of them were content with the other's presence. It made the time go by faster.

Noodle looked at the small digital clock that Murdoc had given her. It was already two o'clock. Noodle slid off the couch and sat next to 2D. She yawned and placed her head on his shoulder.

"2D-kun… would you want to write lyrics for this?" she asked politely. 2D picked up the scribbled on piece of paper, which contained notes, chords, and some Japanese scrawl he couldn't read. It was all vaguely understandable to him.

"Yeah… that'd be great." he said. After ruffling Noodle's hair, 2D stood up and headed towards the door of the lighthouse.

"'M goin' out to see Russ an' Muds, then I wos gonna go to the studio." he continued. Noodle nodded and waved goodbye to her friend. As 2D left, Noodle soon yearned for his presence again. Being with 2D, Murdoc and Russel had improved her self esteem and state of mind. Even the Cyborg had made her feel a bit better, too. The feeling the android had given her was odd, yet still very comforting.

It made her consider paying the mechanical being a visit.

* * *

Murdoc and Russel had been fighting over the same thing for hours. Finally, after finding the correct Satanic charm, Murdoc had reduced Russel's size. Russel, who ended up being grateful, gave Murdoc a large bear hug.

The bassist didn't appreciate the gesture and ended up wandering inside, where he caught up with 2D, who had bypassed Murdoc and Russel because of the large amounts of yelling that were coming from them. Murdoc scoffed at the singer, who was quietly messing around with his keyboard on the couch in the Study.

"'Ey Muds!" 2D said with a smile. Murdoc stopped walking and stopped to look at the blue haired man. He had two sheets of paper in front of him, filled with lyrics and guitar chords.

"Wot the 'ell is all of that?" Murdoc asked. 2D's smile didn't fade despite Murdoc's hostility.

"I's a song me an' Noods are writin'." he told him. "I fink it sounds kinda nice…"

Murdoc picked up the sheets of paper in front of 2D and looked them over carefully. The song was actually coming along nicely, from what Murdoc could see.

"Nice work, Faceache…" he said reluctantly. Murdoc hadn't said anything nice to 2D since the pirate incident.

"Fank yew, Muds!" he chirped. Murdoc threw the paper back on the couch and then wandered to the studio to grab his bass. Murdoc entered the Study with El Diablo and sat next to 2D.

2D, who was astonished that Murdoc didn't run down into his lair, continued to play his keyboards and hum a steady rhythm. Murdoc took the beat 2D was humming and played it on his bass. Even though he had no amp, everything still sounded lovely.

The Gorillaz were one step closer to making their first song completely together since Demon Days.

* * *

Since Russel was back to his normal size, he was now able to cook and assist his band members in cleaning up Plastic Beach. The place was still a mess; corpses were beginning to rot, glass shards were still littering the beach even more, and loaded guns were lying around everywhere. The untidiness of the main building displeased the drummer greatly, and he spent the rest of his afternoon trying to clean up. Noodle soon followed suit, and 2D tried to help as best as he could.

After cleaning up all of the broken glass from the shattered window in the Study, Russel moved to the kitchen.

"'D, do ya know where the food is? I've been livin' on fish for the past month!" he said with a groan.

2D walked in and scratched his head. "I fink there's some turkey in there…maybe a steak…I dunno, really."

Upon hearing the works "turkey" and "steak", Russel dashed as fast as he could to the fridge. He opened it so fast that the hinges of the old door almost fell off. Sure enough, a small turkey sat in the back of the fridge.

When Noodle entered the kitchen and saw what Russel had found, she mentally cursed herself. She never remembered seeing a turkey in the fridge.

"Ya know what? I'm gonna make us some dinner, and we're gonna set the table and all that shit. 'D, go find the silverware and set it up on that table on the sundeck. Baby girl, come here and help me with this." Russel barked. Everyone followed their orders promptly, except for 2D, who had difficulty locating the forks.

* * *

"R-Russel-sama…this is disgusting…" Noodle complained as the turkey was handed to her. She quickly placed the slimy bird into a pan and then into the deteriorating oven. She wasn't very sure that the turkey was going to cook in the old appliance, but she figured it was worth a try. Russel was finishing mashing some old potatoes that he had found lying in a burlap sack in a cabinet, and 2D was carefully chopping up a few carrots. Noodle couldn't remember the last time she had eaten a sit down meal at a table. The thought of doing so made her want to jump around and sing.

But she couldn't do that. Not now, anyways.

Murdoc sauntered into the kitchen as the turkey was coming out of the oven an hour later. A cigarette was perched at the same spot in his mouth, and an empty bottle of rum was in his hand.

"Wot's all of this? Are we eatin'?" he asked. Russel turned to the Satanist and motioned for him to come over and help.

"You don't get any food unless you help us cook, Murdoc-san!" Noodle teased. Murdoc groaned.

"'M not helpin' ya with yer damn cookin'!" he yelled. 2D looked at Murdoc and threw him an apron.

"Muds, we're makin' chocolate swan scones!" 2D chirped. He moved away from the counter and revealed the chocolate chip scone dough he was attempting to knead. Murdoc tried to resist the urge to go to his lair. He hadn't made swan scones in ages. It was the most feminine thing he ever did, and he regretted ever telling 2D about it.

"Fine…" he grumbled. The green-skinned man put on his apron and pushed 2D out of the way.

"Knead it this way, you Dullard." he instructed. Everyone else watched Murdoc Niccals finish the swan scones his way until the rest of dinner was ready to be eaten. It was the biggest spectacle Plastic Beach had seen since the pirates had invaded.

* * *

Russel, 2D, Noodle and Murdoc went outside to place the food on the table 2D had set. They were all starved; it was well past six o'clock. Their meal consisted of turkey, carrots, mashed potatoes, and, Murdoc's addition to the meal, swan scones.

Everything managed to come out quite well, even the table setting. There was not a peep from any of them. They were too busy trying to consume their first real meal since a few years ago.

After almost twenty minutes of silence, Noodle decided to break it.

"Murdoc-san, do you think it would be possible to go swimming?" she asked softly. Murdoc looked up from his turkey wing and grinned at her. He was in a pleasant good mood only because he was filled with rum and good food.

"I believe it could be arranged." he replied before taking another bite. Noodle stuck a bit of carrot in her mouth before grinning.

"Would you go swimming with us?" Noodle assumed that 2D would go swimming with her. Russel had only gone swimming with her in Jamaica. She wasn't sure he particularly enjoyed it.

Murdoc dropped his turkey leg on his plate.

"Luv, I don't think ya wanna see me in my swimsuit. I' may hurt yer eyes to see such glory." he said bumptiously. Noodle grunted and continued eating, completely ignoring Murdoc's comment.

By the time everyone was finished, Murdoc and 2D went inside to get their precious swan scones. They walked out onto the sundeck with a flourish and put the swan scones on the table.

Multiple cheesy sound effects were added for the singer and bassist's enjoyment.

Everyone bit into the scones. They were just as tasty as they had been a few years ago.

* * *

Nobody seemed to want to clear the table of the garbage that sat upon it. The foursome went inside instead.

It was seven thirty, and Noodle was eager to get out into the ocean. While everyone else was watching TV, Noodle was getting a towel ready. She came into the Study to find the boys watching Dracula. Noodle stood in front of the projector screen TV and obstructed their view.

"Aw, Noods! Yer in the way!" 2D said with a sigh.

Not realizing where she was standing, Noodle moved over to the couch and sat in between Murdoc and 2D.

"I thought we were going to go swimming tonight…" she asked. Murdoc scowled and looked at the girl. When his eyes saw her, his face softened.

It was too hard to be mad at Noodle.

"Luv…'M tired. We can go out tomorrow." he said. Noodle wasn't expecting such a nice response from the Satanist. She took it quite gratefully.

"Hai…I understand. What about you, 2D-kun?"

2D shifted his view from the TV. "I wos watchin' me favorite film…I dunno… 'ow about later?"

Noodle slumped into the couch. This always used to happen at Kong, too, so she wasn't surprised. The boys never did something she wanted to do.

The guitarist stayed and watched the remainder of the gory movie before going back to her quiet lighthouse. It seemed like the only safe haven she had. Nobody bothered her in there except for 2D.

She didn't consider him annoying like Murdoc did.

As Noodle stretched out on her own couch, she pondered the thought of going swimming herself. She had heard from Murdoc that the water was very hazardous. Noodle disregarded the thought and started to drift off to sleep.

* * *

The guitarist woke up to the sound of the rising tide late at night. She felt well rested, despite the time, and sat up. Noodle stretched and yawned before standing up to go upstairs to the third story of her lighthouse. She climbed the stairs groggily until she got to the top, which is when she realized that the large light had not been turned on. Noodle went and flicked the switch, and she was blinded by the light like she always was. Sighing, she pressed her head against the oddly shaped panes of glass and looked out. There was a full, yellow moon looking back at her. The warmth of it seemed to radiate onto her, making her feel content.

A familiar knocking noise was present downstairs.

"Who would want me at this hour…" Noodle mumbled. She frolicked downstairs and opened the small door and saw 2D, who was only in a pair of jean capris. Noodle's cheeks reddened at the sight of the singer's bare chest.

"Ready to go swimmin', lil' luv?" he asked. Noodle tilted her head sideways and looked at the man. He must not have been aware of the time.

"I-I guess so…" she replied. She picked up the towel she had thrown on the floor a few hours before and stepped outside onto the beach. The wind was fiercer than she expected.

It blew into her face, making her shiver. 2D put a bare arm around her.

"Cold?" he asked. Noodle nodded.

"The wata's always warm here...even if i's really cold out. I dunno why, though…" he mused. The cold feeling almost melted off of her face because of her blush. She wasn't used to the contact.

Noodle beamed at the sight of the water lapping at the side of the beach. Despite the lack of sand, Plastic Beach was still a relaxing place.

The guitarist took off her pocket dress and socks to reveal a matching two piece bathing suit. It resembled the pocket dress exactly. She left her neck kerchief hang down to her chest and pulled her cat mask over her head.

2D sat on the edge of the water and put his feet in.

"I 'ope the whale isn't still in 'ere." he said. Noodle sat next to him and nodded. She followed her friend's example and slipped her feet into the water. The water was comparable to bath water in temperature. The tenseness in Noodle's body subsided as she slid down into the water.

"Come in, 2D-kun!" she wailed. Noodle swam deeper out and floated on her back.

The bluenette smirked and jumped into the water after Noodle.

"Gotcha!" he said teasingly. He grabbed Noodle and threw her into the air, making her land a few feet away.

Noodle felt like she was a child again. She landed into the water curled into a ball, her hand trying to hold onto her mask. She squealed with delight as 2D picked her up again.

The Asian woman stopped when he held her in his arms instead of throwing her into the water again. She straightened her mask carefully and looked up at him.

2D moved Noodle's mask to the side and looked at the slight bruise on her eyes. He traced his finger over it gently, not wanting to hurt her. Noodle cringed slightly and 2D moved his finger away.

"'M sorry…" he said. Noodle grabbed his hand and put it back on her face.

"I don't mind." she replied. 2D's face paled. He grunted and left his hand on her cheek.

The two sat in the water, enjoying the other person's company like they had done earlier that day. Noodle shifted and set her head in the crook of 2D's shoulder.

"2D-kun…" she said happily. The singer looked down to her. The moon illuminated her bright green eyes. They had changed to a dark green-blue because of the light.

"Yer eyes…" he said. Noodle cocked an eyebrow.

"What about them?" she asked nonchalantly.

"T-They're beaui'ful…"

2D leaned down and kissed Noodle softly on her lips.

"2-2D…"

* * *

FFF- CLIFFHANGER :D


	13. In Economy

New chapter...finally. xD _**PLEASE REVIEW PLEASE REVIEW PLEASE REVIEW PLEASE REVIEW!

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**_

**Chapter 13: In Economy**

* * *

Noodle carefully examined 2D's face, trying to pick out any emotion she could from it. The only thing she could really see was that he was confused; an emotion that was frequently associated with him.

She forced herself to dig deeper into the man's facial structure. His confusion was mixed with a strong feeling of longing and sadness. He looked as if he wanted to cry.

2D's eyes fell down to look at the ocean. "Noods…'M sorry fer that…" he said. His tone depressed Noodle greatly. She didn't know how to respond.

"No…do not apologize…please." Noodle told him. Her feelings for 2D seemed to well up inside of her. She didn't want to deny him. It would only break his heart, which she imagined was already fragile enough.

The singer looked at Noodle, whom he was still holding carefully. The guilt was starting to set in.

She was his guitarist. The age gap between them was horrible.

He knew the kiss had been out of impulse; Noodle was a pretty girl, and he had had no contact with any kind of woman in over a year.

"Noodle…I didn' mean to do tha'…an' if yer pissed at me… tha's fine." he said. Noodle put her hand on his cheek.

"I'm not mad, 2D-kun…I'm only surprised." she whispered. Noodle settled into his embrace while trying to stay afloat in the water at the same time. She then continued to speak.

"I can't deny that I had feelings for you when I was…a child. That was years ago…and I've changed. I do not think I'd be able to love you, or anyone."

2D bit his lip. He had never had such a longing for anyone in his life.

"Give me a chance…please…" he begged. "I'll do anyfing fer ya…"

Noodle was taken aback. She tensed up in his grip and shivered.

"I can't…" she mumbled before leaning up and kissing him again.

2D didn't move a muscle, he was too scared to.

Noodle uttered a quick apology before swimming away from 2D and flopping back onto the beach. She was too frightened to face him anymore.

* * *

The guitarist ran back to her lighthouse, thinking that it would provide some sort of refuge for her emotions. She ran up two flights of stairs to the dome of glass that encased the large orb of light that she lit up every evening.

The beauty the small room contained was so amazing to the young woman. Every time she entered, she felt so entranced by the differently-shaped panes of glass.

When she looked out, she could still see her blue haired friend in the water, swimming to the shore. She watched him climb back onto the beach and head towards her comfortable building. She shifted in her place, deciding whether or not she would answer the door when the time came. Noodle put her hand gently on the glass and let it slide down back to her side.

She couldn't leave 2D alone.

The knock she had been expecting came about a minute after, and she slowly went down the stairs to answer it. The singer was right in front of her, staring at the ground. He lifted his head to look at her. His dark obsidian eyes were staring at her, searching for some sort of answer. Noodle motioned for him to enter, and he did so quickly. He shuffled across the wood floor, being careful not to trip over any of Noodle's belongings that littered place.

"I screwed everfing up…'m sorry…" he said. Noodle wiped the small tears that were forming in her eyes. She couldn't let him see that she was crying.

"Please stop apologizing, 2D…y-you don't love me…it's because you've been separated from people so long… you need someone…that's all…" she rambled. 2D shook his head.

"No…I-I'm more than jus' confused…I-I fink I love ya, Noods…" he said genuinely. Noodle stepped back from him, completely in shock. She thought as hard as she could for a few seconds.

She loved him back.

The guitarist mentally scolded herself after she thought this. She couldn't have any sort of partner. She had always limited all of the romantic feelings she ever had; regardless of whether they had been for 2D, and, on some occasions, even Murdoc. She always felt the need to fly solo. It seemed like the only way to protect herself.

"Y-You do not understand…I can't love anyone. Hell changed me…it changed me so, so much…" she mumbled. 2D turned his head sideways. He couldn't understand his own feelings, let alone Noodle's.

"Noodle…I don't understand…" he pleaded. "I wanna try… I really do…"

Noodle sighed and let her eyes wander around the room.

"I-I want to love you… but I can't. I don't want to hurt you…" she said. 2D rubbed his head and cupped Noodle's chin in his hand.

"Ya won't… yer so much more diff'rent than Paula…or Rachael…" he said. Noodle pulled herself away, and let only her back rest in his chest. 2D took the opportunity to hold his best friend.

"No…I-I'll break it off…and you'll hate me for it." Noodle bit her lip as hard as she could. Blood seeped out steadily. The irony taste in her mouth made her cringe in the man's arms. 2D looked down.

He tried so hard to understand her. The gap that was still there needed to be filled.

What had happened in Hell that made her unable to love?

"Gimme a chance…only one…and if ya feel… unprotected…you can leave, and I'll neva bother ya 'bout it again." he offered. Noodle swallowed the blood that occupied her mouth.

"How?" she asked quietly. 2D looked around the room.

"D-Do ya want me to spend the night here?" he asked.

* * *

Noodle woke up the next morning on the couch. She felt her surroundings and immediately realized that she wasn't in her bed. The guitarist jerked her body forward, sending her body catapulting onto the floor. She cussed; not realizing someone else was occupying her room, and had been in there all night.

When she sat up, she came face to face with a shirtless 2D, who was groggily starting to sit up on the couch. Her eyes bugged out at the sight of him sleeping next to her.

Then, the memories of all the times of when she would climb into his bed during a thunderstorm when she was a child came back to her. It was because of 2D that she became immune to the scariness of storms and thunder. She smiled at the thought and looked up at him.

2D turned over to Noodle and beamed brightly.

"Mornin'." he said happily. Noodle grinned back weakly, not wanting to show much emotion to him.

"Should we go inside and get something to eat?" she asked. 2D nodded vigorously and jumped off the couch. He aimed his body wrong and landed directly on top of the small Asian woman, causing her to shriek in laughter. The scream frightened 2D at first, and then he heard her small bursts of laughter.

He laughed along with her before rolling off onto the floor. Noodle wrapped her tiny arms around him and carefully clung to his side. It seemed like she was only eight again when 2D stood up and carried Noodle inside on his back to get their breakfast.

* * *

Noodle scraped together all of the food that she could find and was only able to make a plate of eggs for 2D and herself. It wasn't as satisfying as the dinner she had eaten the evening prior, but it was something.

The singer had a grin on his face while he was eating. Noodle hadn't seen him smile so much since after Demon Days was released. It was a change of pace for her; seeing someone smiling a lot. Russel nor Murdoc had smiled much since she arrived.

She mentally shrugged and put the old chipped plate in the sink along with her fork. 2D was still picking at his egg quietly. The scrape of the spoon against the porcelain made her put a hand to her ear.

"Do you have a washing machine here?" she asked. 2D looked up from his food, baffled at the question.

"We neva washed our clothes before…" he said. Noodle's eyes widened. It was typical of Murdoc not to care about hygiene, but even Kong had a venerable washing machine. Despite its age, it managed to get most of the stains out of even Murdoc's clothes and underwear.

"Murdoc-san is crazy! Why wouldn't he install a washer?" she complained loudly. 2D started to cower in his seat. He had always seen that yelling equaled him being hit.

That's how it was with Murdoc, anyway.

Noodle stomped away from the kitchen, ignoring 2D's cowering. She needed to go and complain to Murdoc.

* * *

Russel was in his own room that Murdoc had given him. It wasn't much, but it seemed to be a lot bigger than the room he had in Kong. Unlike Noodle, the drummer had no idea how to decorate or make the place seem inviting. He hauled in a drum set and an old television he had found in the Studio. Even with those items and a large, king sized bed, there was still a considerable amount of space left for him to fill up.

He had none of his taxidermy projects. They, too, were also at Kong, along with everything else he owned. He remembered when he had left Kong in a bitter rage over Noodle's supposed death.

He didn't want to show it, but he was only leaving so that he could get as far away from anything that had to do with Noodle as he could. During those days, even if it was just the sight of Noodle's bare room, Russel would come close to bursting into hysterics. He had taken the El Manana incident worse than any of his other band members.

Russel rubbed his bald head with his hand. He tried very hard not to think of what had happened after he left Kong. He had been emotionally distraught and filled with fear then. Things had changed now.

Noodle was back.

He had no reason to be sad now.

A feeling of melancholy was still looming over the large man. He wasn't sure if it was Plastic Beach's false, semi-relaxing vibe or if it was Murdoc's arrogant attitude floating around everywhere. He green man had even installed speakers to play the music of the band's third album all around the beach.

Luckily Russel had destroyed most of those when the pirates had invaded.

The drummer stood up from his bed and looked around the drab room. Nothing in there seemed to interest him. He strode out and closed his door behind him and started off towards the Study.

The Study's décor had always fascinated Russel. He was almost sure that Murdoc hadn't designed it; the bassist didn't have any taste at all. As he was looking around, he stumbled on a book in the long shelf that lined a particular wall. He pulled on it to see its contents when the shelf slid aside and revealed a long, narrow staircase. It looked as though it went down into oblivion.

Russel sighed. He was up for something interesting, even if it involved going down a long stretch of stairs.

At least it would be good for his health.

* * *

"Made it down 'ere, eh?" Murdoc asked. Russel stopped at the bottom of the stairs and glared at Murdoc ferociously.

"What the f*ck is this supposed to be, Muds? A secret lair?" he asked. Murdoc chuckled and leaned back in his leather office chair.

"Exactly. You've gotten smarter, 'aven't ya, Lards?" the green skinned man replied. Russel growled, making Murdoc's eyes dart to the floor.

No matter how much he loved to tease Russel, he never went far enough to make the other man physically hurt him. That had already happened once in his life, and he was determined to keep it that way.

"Yer sick…yer such a sick mother f*cker…" Russel retorted. Murdoc cocked an eyebrow and stood up for the first time in hours. His back popped as he stretched.

"Wanna fag?" he asked spontaneously. Russel looked at the man like he was crazy and took one from Murdoc's pack of Lucky Lungs. He took out his own lighter and lit it as quickly as possible. He hadn't had a smoke in weeks.

Both men breathed the smoke into their lungs. The drummer looked Murdoc over. He had become greener than he had been five years prior. He seemed to have lost weight, too.

"What made ya leave Kong?" Russel asked. Murdoc had left long after Russel, and the large man had no clue as to what made Murdoc make his grand exit from their old studio.

Murdoc took a long drag and sighed. "Do ya want the truth, mate? Or do ya want a lie? I'll give ya both."

Russel nodded his head to the former option, and Murdoc let his eyes wander to the floor once again.

"I missed Noods…I missed 'er like hell…the more I stayed in the goddamn studio, I got more crazy. The women stopped flowing in after a while, so I left. Nothin' interestin' went on there anymore. After settin' the place on fire, I came here, gassed 2D, and boom! Here we are now." he explained. Russel threw his cigarette in Murdoc's filled ashtray and glared at the bassist again.

"You burned down our studio?" he boomed. Murdoc simply pointed to one of his cameras that was pointed to Kong. Most of the third story seemed to be burned off. He sighed. Murdoc really had gone crazy.

"Look, I needed insurance money. I needed out!" It seemed like the older man was looking for all the excuses he could find.

"Yer crazy Muds. We need to get ya outta here." Russel told him. Murdoc stepped away from Russel.

"You can't take me off my own island. There's nothin' wrong with it! It's…it's like a plastic paradise, yeah?" Murdoc said with a laugh.

Russel's desire to leave the island was only increasing by the day.


	14. Melodica

Hope you enjoy the new chapter.

_**PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! I'LL WRITE MORE CHAPTERS WHEN YOU REVIEW!**_ It encourages me. :3

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**Chapter 14-Melodica**

* * *

After Russel left his lair, Murdoc began to get back to work. He had heard Russel's large body coming down the stairs, which gave him time to hide his latest project. He walked over to the single closet that was in the room and swiftly opened the door to reveal the limp body of the Cyborg. He had reopened her lifeless eyes, which were now fixated upon him. Shuddering, he threw the android over his shoulder and proceeded to slam her down onto the war table.

Murdoc inspected her body carefully and looked over all of the work he had done. New guns had been installed, as well as a chip that made her more human-like.

It was only a start to the improvements she would need to function again, however. It would be a matter of time before he could figure out exactly what had happened to her to cause her whole system to crash.

The bassist carefully opened the panel on the Cyborg's head. Her bulging eyes and teeth were now visible, along with her gleaming metal skull. The wires that were once buzzing with life were now dull. No more electricity ran through them.

He sighed seeing his creation so lifeless. As of now, there was nothing he could do about it. The only thing he could do was attempt to mess around with her circuits until something happened.

Murdoc grabbed the wires he had recently installed into his wall and inserted them in the proper places so the Cyborg could charge. Surprisingly, charging was the only thing she could do; her internal battery was never harmed by the Boogeyman's force field. She now had wires running out of her from every which way, causing her to beep wildly.

He disregarded the obnoxious noise and watched as her open face panel regained some of its life. Smiling, he turned back to one of his many computers to do some research on advanced robotics.

* * *

Although the Cyborg's whole hard drive had been wiped out by the Boogeyman, she was still able to process a few mindless thoughts about what was happening around her.

When she first caught a site of the real Noodle without her mask, her mind was asking so many questions.

Where did she come from?

Would she be staying permanently?

Was she a threat to the island?

The Cyborg could process these questions all she wanted, but no matter what she could do, she would never be able to ask them to anybody except herself. Her situation was very pitiful; the poor android couldn't even move.

She felt horrible about not being able to help her beloved master. He was her everything; what she strived to protect and serve. She was a vegetable now, just as 2D had been so many years ago. She had no purpose anymore.

Without a task to do, the Cyborg's mind went amuck with hateful thoughts about herself. She blamed herself for crashing, as well as letting Murdoc be choked by the shadowy figure known as the Boogeyman.

She was still able to see after her system crashed. The mechanical being remembered being hauled inside and being dropped onto the floor. That fall made her completely lose most of her sense of smell. Her circuits and applications continued shutting down randomly until Noodle picked her up.

The moment she was placed on the couch by her twin she realized that the real Noodle was a truly good person, not a horrible one like she originally thought. She only had her sense of sight at that point.

She lost it after Noodle placed her combat hat perfectly on her head.

The Cyborg had no recollection of what happened after that. She only had the ability to think when she was charging, for the power suppliers went straight to her brain.

She looked up at her master, who was searching on one of his many computers. She hoped that he was searching for a way to fix her. She felt the need to serve him once again.

It was her duty.

She couldn't be a vegetable. She wouldn't stand for it.

* * *

"Russel-sama, did you enjoy being large?" Noodle asked inquisitively. "It looked really fun. I enjoyed being high up. Seeing the world from a different point of view really is lovely."

Russel sighed and rubbed his bald head. "It got old after a while…" he mumbled. The two were sitting out on the plastic grass that covered the top of the island. Noodle had discovered an opening in the sundeck that allowed her to climb out of the deck and into the fake, scraggly grass. It was a far cry from the real grass they had had on the windmill island.

Thinking about the windmill made Noodle sigh. The beauty of the wonderful floating island had perished a few years ago, but it still lingered in her mind permanently.

"I suppose it would be more fun if you could just see the world differently, like on the windmill island. Everything seemed so surreal when it was up high, you know…" Her thoughts drifted off without a care in the world. Noodle, who was on her towel, flopped back and stared at the sky.

"What the hell are you doin', Noods?" the drummer asked.

Noodle didn't respond. She moved her hand to take a cigarette out of her pocket, until she realized that Russel was right in front of her. The guitarist quickly moved her hand to the ground instead. The grass felt horrible on her hands. It scraped the outer layer of her skin enough to make her hiss.

Russel turned to Noodle again, giving her an odd look. Her behavior had changed since she was fifteen. It still wasn't something he was accustomed to.

"Are ya alright?" he asked blankly. Noodle turned to look at him; her cat mask perched to cover her face. She said nothing, and stood up to stretch.

"Everything's perfect Russel. Everything is pretty damn perfect."

With that, Noodle picked up her towel and headed inside.

* * *

2D had been locked in the studio by Murdoc that morning. He kept on pestering him to come up with a demo that was as good as Noodle's.

"Make some great f*ckin' music." he would tell him. 2D now found himself incapable of writing anything decent. Writing music was now like a chore.

By the time 2D bothered to look outside, the time had changed from late morning to late at night. The studio had gone completely dark, with the exception of a single lamp that stood lopsided on the mix table. Grunting, 2D went to fuss at the doorknob again.

He jiggled it with as much force as he could muster. It was still locked.

The singer kicked the door with his sailing boots. Opening the metal doors seemed like an impossible task.

He pounded on it again, this time with much more force. He thought he could see a small dent in the door. He grunted at the minimal amount of progress and let his body slide down the door and onto the floor. His efforts were useless.

2D wasn't sure how long he had been sitting. His thoughts wandered unconsciously without thinking about anything in particular.

It was one of those moments when he thought he heard a noise; distant, at first, and then it seemed to grow louder. He listened carefully to the sound.

It sounded oddly similar to a melodica. 2D pressed his ear against the door. The instrument was being accompanied by the rhythm of the lapping waves. He wrinkled his eyebrows and pounded as hard as he could at the door.

"'Ey!" he yelled. Suddenly, the music stopped. He pressed his ear harder against the steel doors, trying to hear if footsteps were coming to save him. 2D wasn't sure if he was correct, but he could hear the small sound of feet padding over to him. He smiled. If the person wasn't wearing shoes, which is what it sounded like, then it would be Noodle.

The doorknob was being pulled on the other side of the door. The pulling was very subtle at first, and then the sound grew just like the melodica music had. After a few more tries, the door slammed open, smacking 2D directly in the face.

He winced and fell backwards, grasping his bleeding face. Sure enough, it was Noodle on the other side of the door. Her hand also moved to her face in shock. She had no intentions of hurting the blue haired man. She quickly bent down next to him and removed his face from his hands. His nose was bloody, along with his upper lip. She frowned and pulled him up.

2D turned away from the guitarist. He didn't want her to see him in such horrible shape. Noodle turned his face sharply towards her again and wiped the blood from his face with her arm.

"A-Are you ok, 2D-kun?" she asked hesitantly. He ignored her questions and stood up. Noodle grabbed his shoulder, but he continued to walk out.

"2D-kun!" she yelled. Her angry tone made 2D turn around. His face was already starting to bruise up. The dried blood cracked along his cupid's bow, making him look more zombie like than he already was. Noodle cringed at the sight; but softened her expression and walked towards him.

2D wasn't focusing on Noodle, though. His eyes were fixated on the green melodica that was on the floor.

It was the one he was going to give her five years ago, directly after El Manana.

Noodle bent down and picked up the delicate instrument. Even though she was hiding behind her mask, 2D could sense her smiling underneath it.

"R-Russel-sama gave it to me as we were coming to Plastic Beach…I usually play it at night, in the lighthouse…" she said bashfully. 2D walked past her and climbed up the set of stairs that were by the lift. It was the closest entrance to the roof of Plastic Beach.

Noodle followed behind him, waiting to see what he would do. By the time she reached the top, 2D was already on the roof of the building, looking at the lapping waves. He looked so peaceful, regardless of his fresh injuries. The miniscule breeze seemed to play at his hair and shirt, making it wave ever so slightly. The guitarist bit her lip and stepped closer to him. It wasn't until she was directly next to him did he turn to face her.

"Russ gave that to ya, didn' 'e?" he asked quietly. Noodle nodded and handed it to him. 2D took it in his hands for a moment before handing it back to Noodle.

"I's yours, luv." he said. The man turned his attention back to the ocean.

Noodle started to put the instrument in her mouth, but she stopped and turned to 2D.

"I want to leave the island." she said abruptly. Startled, 2D furrowed his eyebrows.

"Yew like it 'ere…roight? I though yew did…" he said. Noodle shook her head.

"I-I want to go back to Kong. I believe Murdoc-san is going to go insane here, if he hasn't already. Change will be good for him." she stated. 2D longed for Kong Studios. He had ever since he arrived at Plastic Beach.

There was something inside of him that made him stay at the beach, though. It wasn't that he physically couldn't leave because of Murdoc. Some sort of dull attachment made him stay, and there were some parts of Plastic Beach he actually enjoyed.

"Muds won't leave." he said quietly.

"He needs to leave. I know Russel-sama wants to leave, and I now know you want to leave. I also want to leave. Murdoc-san is the only one stopping us."

2D bit his lip. It was obvious that Murdoc was the only one keeping them from leaving. Without Murdoc, Gorillaz seemed like nothing. He was their leader; they couldn't make another album without him.

Or, in more truthful terms, _he wouldn't let them_ make another album without him.

Noodle put the melodica to her mouth, making 2D unable to comment on the issue any further. She played the same sweet tune she had been playing ten minutes earlier.

The bluenette tried to pick out the tune. It sounded a bit too familiar to him. After playing for three minutes, Noodle stopped playing abruptly.

"Wot was that?" 2D asked. Noodle tilted her head sideways.

"It was Broken. I thought you knew…" she said, confused. 2D blushed at his stupidity, a rare occurrence for him.

"I 'aven't heard it in a while, I fink." he said. 2D turned to her and quickly removed the mask from her face. Noodle, not expecting the sudden movement, defensively grabbed for her accessory, which was now in 2D's hands. He dropped it on the ground behind him and brushed the hair out of the girl's face.

"Ya don't need it… yer beautiful…" he told her. Noodle looked to the ground.

"No…I'm not. The scar i-" 2D cut Noodle off.

"Don' eva deny it, luv. Yer a beautiful girl."

Noodle's face was now fully exposed. 2D could see the red tones that had appeared on her cheeks. They nearly matched his.

Slowly, he moved his face closer to hers; trying to attempt the move he had screwed up the other night. Noodle let her own face drift to his. Within seconds, their lips were about to brush across each other.

Suddenly, the sound of boots came up from behind them. Noodle stepped away from the singer to see who had intruded.

Murdoc was standing behind the two, his hands on his hips. He didn't look very pleased with them. The bassist appeared to be extremely hung over, and could seemingly snap at any minute.

"I thought I told ya to go and write me a damn song!" he yelled. 2D cringed in guilt.

"'M sorry, Muds…Noodle let me out, and-"

"I don't care if the pelican let ya out! I don't see a single word written anywhere!" he interjected. Noodle's face became redder and redder; not in embarrassment, but in anger.

"I-I wos really tryin', Muds…I couldn't fink of anyfing." he said. It wasn't an excuse; the singer really couldn't think of anything good to write down.

"I couldn't fink of anyfing!" Murdoc mocked 2D, complete with a horrid Cockney accent. The bassist rose his hand up and smacked 2D hard across the face. The younger man stumbled backwards and almost fell against the railing that lined the roof.

Noodle had had enough. She walked towards Murdoc and grabbed his shirt.

"Murdoc-san, you need some sort of intervention. We're leaving Plastic Beach, and you're coming with us." she said. Noodle tightened her grip on Murdoc's shirt and waited for some sort of response.

* * *

**MURDOC RUINED THE FLUFF! MURDOC RUINED THE FLUFF!**


	15. Viva la Vida

Alright, I'm sorry I didn't update. This would've been put up yesterday if I wasn't shoved off of my computer. _

I personally hate this chapter, but meh...**PLEASE REVIEW, I NEED FEEDBACK SO I CAN KEEP WRITING!**

* * *

**Chapter 15-Viva la Vida**

* * *

Murdoc's face was totally blank for a few seconds. He didn't know when any of the other members of his band would catch onto the idea that he needed help. He was already an alcoholic Satanist, now he was going insane. Noodle's piercing green eyes seemed to stare into his soulless body. He couldn't escape her impenetrable, rage-filled gaze. It was too much for him.

2D, for the first time in his life, was also glaring at Murdoc. He was never allowed to do so because it usually ended up with him getting beaten.

Suddenly, Noodle's fiery eyes softened at the shaken bassist. She obviously knew she had him, for once in his life, lost for words.

"M-Murdoc…" she started quietly. "You used to be so much more…cheerful at Kong. This place is destroying your mind."

The green-skinned man was well aware of what was happening to him. Plastic Beach was an escape for him. Nobody knew about it, nobody could find him there. The pressure of his everyday life was gone.

When he first purchased the island, he built a large building on top of it and painted it pink. It seemed like the perfect place to be at the time; no 2D, no Russel, no clingy fans. As this reality set in, the blissful solitude of the island became a bitter loneliness. That was when he had 2D shipped in a suitcase from Beirut, Lebanon.

The pain that he caused 2D escalated drastically. Violently attacking 2D became a vital part of the bassist's daily activities, which also included drinking, smoking, and twanging away on his red bass. It was also at that time when Plastic Beach started coming together. As the man's insanity increased at an alarming rate, the singer was left to deal with him alone, completely unprotected.

Noodle saw Murdoc's progressing mental state by the time Stylo was released. It was then that she knew she needed to come help.

Now, Murdoc stood before Noodle, trying to deny his obvious problem.

"You don't even have to stop smoking or drinking…" she told him. "You need to let go of this wretched place…"

Noodle released him from her grasp. Murdoc's blank expression made her think that he hadn't heard a single word she has just said.

"It's my f*ckin' beach and my f*ckin' life…" he said, his words oddly still. He didn't dare raise his voice to her.

"I understand that, Murdoc-san! Your life and our band is going to be in the gutter soon!" she retorted.

Murdoc scoffed and turned his back to her.

"'M going to get wasted." he mumbled quickly. Before he could make a getaway, Noodle latched her fingers onto his neckerchief.

"You're not going anywhere until you say that we're leaving the beach." she said firmly. Murdoc spat at the floor and cursed again, trying to avoid Noodle's penetrating stare.

"Fine, but not until Aprilish." he said. The guitarist cocked an eyebrow. Aprilish sounded vaguely familiar to her.

Where had she heard it before?

"Aprilish…" she thought out loud. Her concentration shifted away from Murdoc and to her thoughts instead. Swiftly, the bassist ran away from Noodle and down to his lair, hardly making a sound. When he had caught Noodle's attention, he was already deep down in his old office chair, polishing off one of his last bottles of rum.

* * *

Aprilish was, realistically of course, only a few months away. However, these months were tiring and gruesome due to Murdoc's behavior. He became even more complicated than usual, always shoving the band into the studio for rehearsal. He also stayed in Noodle's third story for his pirate radio broadcasts almost daily.

Murdoc wasn't exactly annoying to anybody on the island. They all tried to keep a positive attitude for him.

That all went south when the Satanist finally ran out of all of his rum and cigarettes.

It was early April when it happened. Murdoc was, surprisingly, out on the sundeck, trying to get a tan. The sun was only making him turn greener, much to his agitation. Noodle was out there with him, taking a drag on an old cigarette that had been stuffed in one of her closets for months. She hadn't smoked since that one night with Murdoc, which seemed ages ago. The nicotine felt marvelous as it released in her lungs. The feeling it gave her was remarkable.

Murdoc was smoking along with her. He had no idea that it was the absolute last cigarette on the island that he would be able to smoke, nor did he know that there were alcoholic beverages available for his consumption. He sighed happily and took a long drag. This was the most serene he had ever felt in weeks.

He glanced over at Noodle. Her small bikini made his eyes almost pop out of his head. If she was any younger, she wouldn't be able to fill it out one bit. Her body had changed so much since she got out of Hell. Her curves almost made him drool.

Quickly, he pushed those thoughts out of his head. As sickening as they were, images of Noodle continued to pop in and out of his head, even if his eyes were in his Playboy magazine.

Noodle sat up in her beach lounger and stared out at the beach. She hadn't gone swimming since that one time with 2D. It now seemed that she feared the water only because of the incident that happened there.

She stood up and stretched, giving Murdoc an even better view of her skinny, yet filled out frame. His eyes wandered up to her chest and then to her neck.

The purple haired girl then relaxed, causing Murdoc's eyes to shift back to his magazine. She saw him staring at her the whole time. Surprisingly enough, she slightly enjoyed it. She wasn't used to having any kind of attention directed towards her body.

"Murdoc-san, wasn't that your last cigarette?" she asked curtly. Murdoc shrugged. If that really had been his last cigarette, his whole mellow mood would have been killed.

"Last time I checked, there was nothing else left in the cabinets. It seems like we've run out of food, too." she added.

"The plane that drops off supplies'll be here soon." He said with a small wave of his hand. Noodle's happy expression became slightly grim.

"I cancelled the plane order." She squeaked. Murdoc abruptly stood up from his lounger, sending his malicious magazine to the floor. Noodle tried her best to disregard its disgusting pictures and focus on Murdoc. His skin turned from a puke green to a light, pasty olive with a reddish tint.

He was clearly mad.

"Yer tryin' to make me leave the damn island! That's wot yer doin'!" he screamed. Noodle inched closer to the man in his fit of rage, trying to calm him down. She planted a small kiss on his cheek and breathed in his heavy leathery scent. It made her nose tingle even more than when she smoked.

She never had that kind of feeling with anything else before.

"Wot the bloody 'ell was that for?" he asked, still angry.

"I-I thought it would calm you down…" she mumbled.

Murdoc smirked brightly, regardless of how out of context it was.

"It only really turns me on, luv." he said with a snicker. Noodle blushed and turned away from him, grabbing her towel.

"You are disgusting, Murdoc-san!" she said, her accent becoming thicker by the second.

"Wot, it was only a joke!" Murdoc lied. He wasn't even sure if he was lying. His feelings for his guitarist could have been because there wasn't a single woman on the island.

However, it could also be because his feelings for her really were genuine.

* * *

Noodle trudged inside and threw her towel on the couch. She didn't want to go outside to her lighthouse; she wasn't willing to risk having Murdoc stare at her again.

Her innocence felt tarnished and, possibly, even gone.

This was just another reason why she needed to leave Plastic Beach along with everyone else.

At least it would keep Murdoc away from her.

* * *

Noodle's sour mood had an effect on the band. Noodle was almost never angry, even in her teenage years. 2D and Russel were the most observant about it, and were determined to figure out what was going on.

The singer had been spending most of his time away from Noodle lately. He didn't have the guts to talk to her anymore.

He felt their friendship disintegrating beneath him. It was the slow movements of the floating island that was destroying it, in his opinion. 2D didn't think his opinion mattered, though. It was just another mindless thought of his.

He had taken time to get to know Russel more than he already did. He was retold the story of the drummer's past (regardless of the number of times he's heard it before) and 2D shared some of his own childhood stories. The two forgot how much they really knew each other, and bonding soon became apparent.

A few days Noodle's scuffle with Murdoc, Russel and 2D were inside. The larger man had broken out his old Atari 2600, much to 2D's delight. They had been playing a marathon of Demon Attack all day, and hadn't seen anyone else since breakfast.

"Oi, Russ?" the blue haired man asked curiously. Russel paused the game and turned his rather large head to 2D.

"Wot's been goin' on wif Noodle?" he continued. Russel shrugged.

"It might be a good idea to talk with 'er." he suggested. 2D resumed the game and ignored the man's statement, trying to process it himself.

He knew if he tried to talk to her again, his lips would become numb and words would flow out uncontrollably. He couldn't have this happen; he couldn't risk the embarrassment again.

The two sat with their game for a few more hours until Russel became preoccupied with a small bag of chips, which was the only food he could find.

* * *

The guilt still hadn't set in with Murdoc. He didn't see anything wrong with flirting, especially if it was with his own guitarist. It didn't seem so bad after he looked over it for a while.

The bassist had spent all of his time down in his lair since the incident, trying desperately to repair the Cyborg.

Her creepily lifeless eyes still stared up at him with no hope, unless she was charging. The electricity that made her eyes unrealistically bright again seemed to mock him. He couldn't find a way to fix her.

It seemed like he had been working on her for years, but all efforts seemed to be worthless at this point.

Murdoc looked at his security cameras and saw 2D sitting alone, playing his video games.

"Pansy…" he mumbled. The Satanist reached into his pocket for a cigarette. He didn't feel his pack anywhere, not even in his back pocket.

He fumbled to find his lighter, which he had also misplaced.

"F*ck!" he yelled. He seemed to yank his own body out of his office chair, the force sending the chair to the floor. His arms flew in every which way, sending his precious book and even the Cyborg's unresponsive body to the floor.

As if the life was knocked back into her, the Cyborg opened her eyes once again. Murdoc, who was having a screaming fit, didn't notice her entrance back into life. The mechanical being stood up and gazed at her master, who was clearly going mad.

"Master, is something wrong? Do you need some more rum?" she asked kindly. A hint of personality was in her voice, something that she had never had before.

Murdoc turned and looked at her bruised body, instantly realizing that she could serve him again. These thoughts flooded him with happiness; however, his insanity soon took over.

"There isn't any d*mn rum!" he screamed. "I want to get out!"

"Yes, as you wish, Master. I will prepare a boat." she said. This time, the personality had been wiped out of her voice, and she marched out of the lair to fetch a boat.


	16. Dead Inside

**I am so, so sorry for not updating this. School got in the way. I'm sorry if this chapter is crap. _PLEASE REVIEW! IT MEANS SOOOO MUCH TO ME!_**

* * *

_**Chapter 16-Dead Inside**_

* * *

Murdoc paused and watched the Cyborg while she headed towards the stairs. Something wasn't right about her. He was well aware of the fact that she was a robot. She wasn't supposed to have any kind of feelings whatsoever.

He also knew that what had happened the day the pirates invaded didn't prove that she had no emotion. It only made it seem like an opinion.

"Cyborg..." he commanded monotonously. His slave turned around and looked at him with her glass eyes. All of the emotion that once was contained in them had disappeared. She wasn't the same.

"Yes, sir?" she responded. Murdoc glanced at the floor, trying to find the right wording for his next sentence.

"The radar says there's a storm comin' by…don't prepare anything." he said. The lookalike of Noodle paused before turning back to her master. She smoothed her short jumpsuit and straightened her cap while a forced smile appeared on her face.

"Of course." she said promptly. She walked over to him and examined his face from afar. Startled, Murdoc stepped to the other side of the war table to avoid her whirring eyes. They penetrated his soulless body, leaving him feeling even emptier than he was before.

* * *

Noodle observed the frighteningly strong winds rip across Plastic Beach from the safety of her lighthouse. Unfortunately, it wasn't as safe as she thought. The glass dome she stood in on the third floor was the last place she wanted to be in the event of a storm. The island was rocking; she could feel it.

The unsettling chunks of hail that would pass by her view made her jump. The guitarist snatched a cigarette out of her pocket and lit it with her green lighter, trying to calm her nerves as best as she could. A small tree fell down into the ocean.

It was all just useless plastic, anyway. It didn't matter where it fell into.

Or, at least, that's what Noodle thought. She proudly blew a perfect smoke ring; it had been a skill that took ages for her to master. With Murdoc's guiding and her own instincts, the rings always seemed to be perfect when she concentrated on them. She could never practice with Russel around. The drummer still didn't know about her use of the cancer sticks.

As she headed down to a safer elevation on her ground floor, Noodle couldn't help but wonder if the weather conditions seemed as harsh on top of the island. If Murdoc, 2D and Russel were there, that meant she needed to be up there with them. Quietly, and oh so carefully, she slammed the door open as hard as she could to hold back the wind, which seemed to combat her every move.

The trek to the entrance was lengthier than she ever expected. Flying debris, mostly consisting of plastic and old bottles of rum, was hurled every which way. Dodging it was the most exercise she had gotten in a long while. When the Asian woman finally got a hold of the rickety wooden staircase that led to the entrance, she let out a long sigh. The wind had picked up speed and the rain was coming down harder. She clutched her guitar case, which also contained her melodica and her precious cat mask, along with both of her guitars. Hauling it up the staircase was a chore. It thumped on each stair individually, causing her to go crazy.

She finally opened the door, accompanied by a long, unheard scream of stress. The wind whipped her hair every which way, making it messier than it really was.

After securing the door to make sure it was shut, she dragged herself over to the lift and hastily pushed the button with her gloved hands. Hurricane strength winds slammed into the island, making the hunk of plastic rock back and forth. The motions sickened Noodle greatly as she entered the lift. She couldn't take it for much longer.

* * *

Murdoc, who has emerged from his lair to watch the storm, had been observing Noodle's struggle to reach the main building for twenty minutes. He couldn't help but chuckle at her sad attempts. She still wasn't talking to him, which was really the only reason he found humor in the situation. It was obvious that he could've gone out to help her.

He simply chose not to.

2D, who had been standing behind him the whole time, was about to run to his guitarist's aid. As he turned around, Murdoc held his hand up.

"Stop." the green man told him. 2D looked at him with his usual look of confusion.

"B-But look at 'er! She barely got inside!" he protested. Murdoc grabbed the back of the younger man's shirt and pushed him onto the floor.

"She's a big girl; she'll do it 'erself." he said quietly. 2D had no choice but to sit on the floor in agony, knowing Noodle needed help.

The island continued to shake when Noodle made her way into the study. She plopped her things on the ground and took refuge on the couch. Oddly enough, she started crying.

Her tears weren't of sadness. In fact, nobody would be able to even begin to associate them with any kind of emotion. She just cried and cried. 2D shuffled over to her, only to be swatted away by his own best friend.

The emotions she released were not only her anger for Murdoc, but also for everything else that happened. All that had happened in Hell, El Manana…everything. She was crying for that.

Murdoc was stunned. He hadn't seen Noodle show so much emotion since she was a young teen. For one of the first times in his life, he walked over to someone and comforted them. Noodle ignored his brief hug and continued sobbing. Nothing seemed to be making her stop.

The conditions outside worsened very fast. Pieces of useless plastic were hurling themselves into the windows, which had only recently been repaired. Murdoc silently cursed when he saw the kitchen window shatter onto the ground. With Noodle wailing, he couldn't notice anything else. She had his full attention.

Minutes ticked by, and it was apparent that the residents of Plastic Beach needed to take shelter. Cyborg Noodle had come up from the depths of Murdoc's lair to inform everyone of this. With Russel in tow, she made her way into the study to round everyone up.

"Sir, we are in a very critical state now. The beach is tipping." She said. When Noodle laid her eyes on her, it only made her emotions rage even more. The Cyborg didn't appear to be kind or caring anymore.

Murdoc ignored the message and engulfed himself completely in Noodle's reverie. His eyes were affixed on hers, staring into her cloudy soul. As her green orbs looked into his, the pain she had been holding inside seemed to be released instantly. That was when she stopped.

There was no more wailing.

No more screaming.

The Cyborg strode over to her master and tugged aggressively on his shoulder. Murdoc turned and faced her, not wanting to look at her eyes. He wanted desperately to look into Noodle's eyes. Her emerald ones were so much more appealing than the unattractive glass ones that belonged to her robotic twin. He wanted to rip out those eyes and never look at them again. They made his stomach churn.

When the Cyborg's pestering didn't let up, Murdoc gave in and turned to face her, leaving Noodle to stare out into space.

"Wot?" he yelled loudly. Everyone else cringed at the noise of the irritated voice.

"We must evacuate to the lair, or any other room that is surrounded by walls. The storm that is rapidly approaching is a severe hurricane, sir." she said. Murdoc scoffed at her.

"We'll be fine! It's not like we're-" Murdoc was cut off by the hefty lurch of his island. Plastic Beach had jerked itself to the extreme left, and was now sitting lopsided in the ocean. It was still upright, thankfully, but it was only a matter of time before it lay sideways. Everyone was thoroughly shaken. Noodle had fallen off of the couch, and was sitting almost lifelessly on the floor. 2D had rushed down to her aid, although he wasn't quite sure of what to do.

The Satanist's hands shook as he reached up to tug on his hair.

"Prepare the Orca…and all of the life boats." he mumbled. The Cyborg nodded and saluted him like she usually did and headed out to the beach entrance.

Murdoc didn't really care if she fell into the ocean or not. In fact, he thought it would be lovely if she became incapable of functioning because of the rain.

Russel, who had been quiet all day, decided to speak.

"What're we supposed to do when this piece of crap bites the dust?" he asked. "We've already been thrown sideways!"

Murdoc glared at him.

"Just get into the damn lair, Lards. Don't ask questions." he said. The bassist pointed his scraggly finger to the bookcase that doubled as a secret door. When nobody moved, his temper kicked into overdrive.

"Get in the f*ckin' lair! Do you want to get killed by this damn storm?" he asked them. Everyone quickly moved over to the bookcase and prepared for the worst.

* * *

_**ffff it's so short. _ Sorry.**_


	17. Mortal

Well...look who's back. I've finally gotten back to writing, which is why this may be a bit rough. Please read and review! _**REVIEWING MEANS A LOT!~**_

* * *

_**Chapter 17-Mortal**_

* * *

Nobody was really counting the hours they spent huddled in Murdoc's lair. At this point, they only wanted to exit Plastic Beach alive.

It was already proving to be a difficult task.

There was almost no room in the lair, despite its decent size. Russel took up about a quarter of the space if he was standing absolutely still. Because of his nerves, he paced around the room, decreasing everyone else's personal space.

The Cyborg had her own private corner. Hooked up to every machine possible, she relayed information about the oncoming storm. Radars, maps, computers; every technological device one could imagine was plugged into the android being. She blurted and beeped things to the other four constantly.

The bassist and the drummer argued back and forth the whole time; most of it out of pure boredom. They had nothing else to do.

Currently, Murdoc was sitting at his war table, contemplating his very own fate. He wouldn't be surprised if this was how he was going to die.

He then realized he had been granted the gift of immortality, and that his death would be impossible. The Satanist figured he would have to watch the death of all of his band mates instead, which wasn't something he was looking forward to.

At the eight hour mark, Noodle snapped. The storm hadn't let up a bit; the island was still rocking horribly. She cussed loudly in her native tongue and sighed. None of them seemed to understand.

"Are we leaving here or not?" she asked firmly. She gained everyone's attention quickly. Even the Cyborg turned her head, her lit up eyes staring her twin down carefully.

"W-We need to get a hold of ourselves…I've been thinking…" her voice trailed off. Tears came out of nowhere and rolled down her cheeks like rain.

"This island has made us crazy!" she screamed. "We need to leave at once! This is all too much!"

The room fell eerily silent after the guitarist's outburst. They were quiet because they knew what she said was absolutely true.

"Luv…don't blame the island." Murdoc mumbled. He knew objecting the feisty girl was a stupid idea, but he had the need to push her over the limit out of pure curiosity.

"I'm going to blame the f*cking island, Murdoc-san! What else is there to blame?"

"S-Stop…" a small voiced interjected. The scrawny blue haired singer had finally decided to pipe up after eight hours of pure silence. Noodle turned to him and smiled slightly, even a bit reassuringly. She decided to say nothing more.

"Noods is right…we can't do this anymore. We can just go back to Kong and-"

Murdoc decided to interrupt his drummer's voice of reason.

"Kong is dead! Kong is f*ckin' dead! I destroyed it!" he said. Murdoc had never come out and said what he had exactly done to Kong. Now, the truth had been spilled.

Noodle was the only one who knew.

"Wot the 'ell, Muds? Ya destroyed it?" 2D asked. He had heard the interviews Murdoc had given about destroying their old home. He just considered it a rubbish publicity stunt. The singer had no idea it was actually true.

Russel stared at Murdoc in disbelief. He had nothing to say to the green bastard anymore.

"Wot? The place was a friggin' dump!" Murdoc said in his own defense. It didn't help him very much.

Before anyone could say anything else, the island lurched violently to the right. Everything in Murdoc's boxes on the floor spilled out. Everything from sex toys to rotten tomatoes now covered the floor.

The Cyborg took a heavily blow and fell from most of her cords. Her body toppled over onto the floor and made a loud crashing noise. Noodle screamed and jumped up, even though this was nothing compared to what she had seen in Hell.

The island shook again, this time more forcefully. Everyone was trying to keep their composure, but it was getting more and more difficult by the second.

Random instructions to get first aid containers and extra food slurred off of Murdoc Niccals' tongue as he tried to repair his precious Cyborg. This was when he actually needed her, and he was determined not to let her be broken now.

Russel and Noodle tried to follow his orders as best as possible, but the minor shakes from the island made it too difficult to locate anything.

After fifteen minutes of trying, Murdoc gave up on his mechanical wonder. She was officially dead. His mind quickly began to wander over to other things. There was one thing in particular that wouldn't get off of his mind: Faceache.

He looked over at his singer in pity. The blue haired man was sitting, curled into a tight ball. It was obvious that he was on the verge of unconsciousness. 2D rocked steadily back and forth in rhythm with the island's shakes.

"Face-…I mean, Stu…you alright?" Murdoc asked. He crouched down beside his friend cautiously, not sure of what the singer might do. 2D peeked out from his stance, his blue hair in his face. He pushed it out and took a good look at Murdoc.

"Does it look loike it?" he asked sarcastically. Murdoc sighed. He wasn't good with comforting others.

"Y-Yer gonna be alright. So is Noods…and Russ." the Satanist said. 2D unfurled his spindly legs and sat normally once again.

"Wot about you, Muds?" he asked. Murdoc, who was slightly taken aback by the question, stood back up in a normal position.

"I ain't goin' nowhere, mate. Not in a million years."

As Murdoc finished his sentence, the power flickered off. The room was bathed in an infinite darkness. Nobody knew where they were now.

The darkness didn't last for a long time. The Cyborg decided to function once again, and she raised her head calmly from the floor.

"Warning, Faceache's room has fully flooded with water. Evacuation recommended." The monotone voice alerted. 2D trembled in fear knowing that all of his belongings were now in custody of the ocean. He sniffled, but tears refused to fall down his face.

* * *

The warnings continued to come, one after another. Each one seemed to sound the same. Constant updates on 2D's room began to get old. They didn't care if the room had reached maximum water capacity; they had been told that already five minutes ago.

It was when the boiler room reached full capacity. That's when they began to care.

"M-Murdoc-san…this means…"

Noodle didn't even have the energy or strength to finish her sentence. She ran over to Russel for comfort.

The guitarist didn't want to die.

There was now only a limited time before the water started to leak into the lair, regardless of how well it was sealed.

They needed to evacuate, and they had to do it fast.


End file.
